Tables of Stone – Is, Was and Will Be – The Unknown Character of Christ and His Word

Exo 34:1-35 The Shining Face of Moses

Ato Barnes — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 11:56:47 +0000

Exodus 34:1-35 The Shining Face of Moses

[Study Aired January 23, 2023]

Exo 34:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.
Exo 34:2 And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount.
Exo 34:3 And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.
Exo 34:4 And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.
Exo 34:5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.
Exo 34:6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
Exo 34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
Exo 34:8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.
Exo 34:9 And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.
Exo 34:10 And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.
Exo 34:11 Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
Exo 34:12 Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee:
Exo 34:13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:
Exo 34:14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
Exo 34:15 Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;
Exo 34:16 And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.
Exo 34:17 Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.
Exo 34:18 The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.
Exo 34:19 All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male.
Exo 34:20 But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.
Exo 34:21 Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.
Exo 34:22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.
Exo 34:23 Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel.
Exo 34:24 For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year.
Exo 34:25 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning.
Exo 34:26 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.
Exo 34:27 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.
Exo 34:28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
Exo 34:29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.
Exo 34:30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.
Exo 34:31 And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them.
Exo 34:32 And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai.
Exo 34:33 And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face.
Exo 34:34 But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded.
Exo 34:35 And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

In Chapter 34, we shall look at the spiritual significance of the two tablets of stones, the renewal of the covenant with the Lord and the shining face of Moses.

As we learned earlier, the law of Moses was written on tables of stones but was broken by Moses when he saw the Israelites playing the harlot by worshiping the golden calf. In these verses, the Lord requested Moses to hew two tablets of stones so that He will write the laws on them. From the scriptures, we see that the two tablets of stones represent the nature of our hearts as we receive the law of Moses. That is, we were stiff-necked people when we first received the word of the Lord in the form of the law of Moses. If we are called and chosen, then the Lord will gradually change our hearts of stone to fleshy tables of the heart.

Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

2Co 3:3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

Jer 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

In verses 2 and 3, Moses was required to meet the Lord in the morning and he was not supposed to bring anyone along. Meeting the Lord in the morning means that it is when the sun (Christ) starts rising in our hearts that we are able to see the Lord. That is to say it is when the old man is dying and the new man, after the image of Christ, is rising in our hearts that we are able to understand His words or know Him or see Him face to face.

2Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

The fact that Moses was instructed not to bring anyone along to meet the Lord means that we are to work out our own salvation (meet the Lord) as the Lord enables us. As the Lord’s elect, we are helpers of each other’s faith, but each has to work out his own salvation as our Lord enables.

Php 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

In the parable of the ten virgins, the five who were wise told the other five virgins, when they requested the five wise virgins to give them some of their oil, that they should go and buy oil for themselves. In other words, the five wise virgins were telling the others that they should work out their own salvation.

Mat 25:8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
Mat 25:9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

We are also told in verse 3 that no man should be seen throughout the mountain. What we are being told here is that no relationship should distract us from knowing the Lord.

Rev 3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

In verse 3, it is also stated that the flocks and herds should not graze opposite the mountain as Moses comes before the Lord. From the scriptures, flocks and herds stand for our possessions. In other words, what we work for as we live here on earth.

Job 1:3 His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

These possessions stand for the cares of this world which the Lord admonished us to make sure do not distract us from the goal of knowing Christ or seeing Him face to face as Moses did on the Mount.

Mat 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Exo 34:5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.
Exo 34:6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

In verse 5, the Lord descending in the cloud means that the Lord comes to us through His elect which are symbolized by the cloud.

Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

When Christ comes to us, we are given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. Knowing the mysteries of the kingdom means Christ is being unveiled to us. This unveiling of Christ involves knowing His ways and His key attributes. In verse 6, we are shown some of His attributes which include the fact that He is merciful, gracious, longsuffering and overflows in goodness and truth. The Lord loves to show mercy, and He has shown us His mercy by choosing us at the expense of others. We are therefore to learn to be merciful as we are to show mercy to the whole of the human race at the fullness of time.

Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Longsuffering here means being slow to anger. His longsuffering is what leads us to repentance.

Rom 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Exo 34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

Here in verse 7, we are told that the Lord shall visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and the fourth generation. However, we know from the sum of the Lord’s words that the Lord does not punish people for other people’s sins. Let’s take a look at the following scripture:

Eze 18:1 The word of the LORD came to me:
Eze 18:2 “What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?
Eze 18:3 As I live, declares the Lord GOD, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel.
Eze 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.

Eze 18:14 “Now suppose this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has done; he sees, and does not do likewise:

Eze 18:18 As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, behold, he shall die for his iniquity.
Eze 18:19 “Yet you say, ‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ When the son has done what is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live.
Eze 18:20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

It appears that the use of the word “visiting” is not the correct word that should have been used. According to Strong, the word “visiting” (H6485) in verse 7 is used frequently (103 times) to mean numbered. The word “visiting” therefore, used in verse 7 should have been numbered. In other words, the Lord has numbered the iniquity of the fathers upon their children and their children’s children.

It is insightful to note that the Lord will number the iniquity of people until the third and fourth generations. As we are aware, the number three means the process of spiritual maturity through judgment. The number four means the whole of the matter under discussion. Thus, the spiritual significance of the statement that the Lord will number iniquity until the third and fourth generation is that it is through the process of the Lord’s judgment (the number three) that the whole of the human race (the number four), will have their sins dealt with or not counted or numbered anymore.

Exo 34:8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.
Exo 34:9 And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.

To bow down to worship is a symbol of submitting to the Lord in every way as we come to see His mercy towards us. We, His elect, were once a stiff-necked people whom the Lord has pardoned and has taken us for His inheritance. As we can see from these verses, it is when we find grace in the Lord’s sight that He comes to lead us in this wilderness of life. The grace we find in Christ is for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. From the Biblical perspective, grace is defined as Christ coming to us.

Joh 1:16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
Joh 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

What we need to know is that Christ coming to us means coming with His judgment to purify us in order to fulfill His purpose.

2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

As His elect, we have found grace in the Lord’s sight just as Moses who is a symbol of the elect, had found grace in His sight!!

Exo 34:10 And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.
Exo 34:11 Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

The Lord has made a covenant with His elect that He will do marvelous work on our behalf for all the world to see. In verse 11, this marvelous work involves driving out the inhabitants of Canaan to give the people of Israel the promised land. As we all know, the land is our bodies and the Canaanites refer to the beast or the old man within us that the Lord is destroying with the breath of His mouth when He comes to us. The destruction of the old man is through the Lord’s judgment, and this is the marvelous work the Lord is doing in His elect.

Psa 105:5 Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

In making this promise of bringing us to possess our bodies to offer as a living sacrifice to the Lord, He swore by Himself so that we who have fled to Him for refuge will have hope.

Heb 6:13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
Heb 6:14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
Heb 6:15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
Heb 6:16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
Heb 6:17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
Heb 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
Heb 6:19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
Heb 6:20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

Exo 34:12 Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee:
Exo 34:13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:
Exo 34:14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
Exo 34:15 Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;
Exo 34:16 And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.
Exo 34:17 Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.

In these verses, we are warned by the Lord regarding the present danger which will disqualify us from being able to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to the Lord. The present danger involves playing the harlot after other gods which is what happens to us when we enter the churches of this world (Babylon) in our initial walk with the Lord, thinking we are serving the Lord. At this stage of our lives, we serve another Jesus – a Jesus who will not show mercy to the human race and a Jesus who has no control over us because he has given us a free will to make our own decisions.

2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
2Co 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

As a result of serving another Jesus, this is what happens to us before the Lord comes with His brightness to deliver us:

2Pe 2:18 For when they (leaders in the churches of this world) speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
2Pe 2:19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2Pe 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
2Pe 2:21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
2Pe 2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Exo 34:18 The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread was the first of the festivals to be commanded by God for Israel to observe in celebrating the exodus from Egypt and the Israelites’ freedom from slavery to the Egyptians. Spiritually, keeping the feast of unleavened bread means being given to know and to walk in sincerity in the truth of the word of the Lord.

1Co 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Exo 34:19 All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male.
Exo 34:20 But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.

All the firstborn of male livestock belong to the Lord including that of donkeys. We are required to redeem the firstborns with a lamb. We, the Lord’s elect, are represented by the firstborn sons who have been redeemed by the blood of the lamb.

Rev 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.

Rev 14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

In case we do not want to redeem the firstborn donkeys, then we have to break their neck. In the scriptures, breaking the neck is related to breaking the yoke of bondage as shown in the following:

Jer 28:11 And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.

Jer 30:8 For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:

So, what verse 20 is implying is that if we are not redeemed by our Lord Jesus Christ from the burden (yoke) of sin, then we shall face spiritual death through the breaking of our necks.

Exo 34:21 Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.

Jesus has raised the bar spiritually to the law of Christ, by focusing on rest in God as He ceased from His own works. This is Jesus’ experience of observing the spiritual sabbath or resting in God:

Joh 14:10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

We also come to rest in Christ when we cease from our own works. This means that we come to see that it is the Lord who does the work in us and therefore, we come to believe in Him that what He has started in us, He will bring to completion.

Exo 34:22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.
Exo 34:23 Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel.
Exo 34:24 For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year.

The Feast of Weeks is the second of the three “solemn feasts” that all Jewish males were required to observe. This important feast gets its name from the fact that it starts seven full weeks, or exactly 50 days, after the Feast of Firstfruits. Since it takes place exactly 50 days after the previous feast, this feast is also known as “Pentecost” which means “fifty.” Since the Feast of Weeks was one of the “harvest feasts,” the Jews were commanded to “present an offering of new grain to the Lord”

Lev 23:16 You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the LORD.

The festival of ingathering is the same as the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles, also known as the Feast of Booths and Sukkot, is the seventh and last feast that the Lord commanded Israel to observe and one of the three feasts the Jews were to observe each year by going to “appear before the Lord your God in the place which He shall choose.” The Feast of Tabernacles, like all the feasts, was instituted by God as a way of reminding Israelites in every generation of their deliverance by God from Egypt. In verse 22, we are required to observe the Feast of Weeks and that of ingathering. This means that we must offer ourselves as firstfruits of the Lord as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to the Lord.

Rom 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Rom 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Every male appearing three times before the Lord in verses 23 and 24 means that it is through our fiery trials that we become spiritually mature to stand before the Lord. Our spiritual maturity involves the driving out by the Lord of all the nations in verse 24, represented by the old man.

Exo 34:25 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning.

Leaven means false doctrines. It is impossible to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to please the Lord if our hearts and minds are filled with false doctrines. We are also reminded in verse 25 not to let any of the sacrifices of Passover be left until morning. Letting nothing remain of the sacrifice means that we must not neglect any part of the word of the Lord. We must endeavor to understand the whole counsel of God through His words.

Act 20:27 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.

Exo 34:26 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.

We, His elect, are the first fruits of the Lord. This means that we are to be presented to the Lord first before all humanity will appear before God. The fact that we are not to seethe a kid in his mother’s milk means that it is only those who are spiritually mature, as a result of their fiery trials, who can be offered as living sacrifice to the Lord. Babies in Christ or carnally-minded Christians cannot offer themselves as living sacrifices.

Exo 34:27 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.
Exo 34:28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

The forty days and nights signify the period of time we go through the Lord’s judgment of our old man to learn righteousness when the Lord comes to us with His brightness.

Gen 7:4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.

Gen 7:12 And the rain (the Lord’s judgment) was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

Isa 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

During these forty days and nights that Moses was in the presence of the Lord, He did not eat or drink anything. The Lord knows how to sustain us in this life when we are in Him. That is why He admonished us not to worry about what to eat or drink since He does not only care about our spiritual needs but will surely also provide our physical needs.

Mat 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Mat 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Exo 34:29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.
Exo 34:30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.
Exo 34:31 And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them.
Exo 34:32 And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai.

The shining of Moses’ face as he spent forty days and forty nights in the presence of the Lord symbolizes the fact that as we are judged by the Lord through the words we have received, we are gradually transformed into His image. Being in the presence of the Lord is the same as knowing Him through His words. Being transformed into Christ’s image is a gradual process such which we do not see, but those outside see that we are transformed just as Aaron and the children of Israel in verse 30 saw the skin of Moses’ face shine.

Rev 1:16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

Mat 17:1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
Mat 17:2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.

Exo 34:33 And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face.
Exo 34:34 But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded.
Exo 34:35 And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Moses putting on the veil to hide the shining of his face is a symbol of the blinding of the minds of many from seeing that the law of Moses only serves as a schoolmaster leading us to Christ and that when Christ comes, the law is abolished. The veil being taken away means the doing away of the law of Moses and coming to know Christ through the spirit.

2Co 3:12 Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:
2Co 3:13 And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
2Co 3:14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.
2Co 3:15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
2Co 3:16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
2Co 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
2Co 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Joh 4:23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
Joh 4:24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

May the Lord help us to continue in Him as we worship Him in spirit and truth!! Amen!!

Awesome Hands – part 50: “Smite the dust of the land”

Steven Crook — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 15:43:47 +0000

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Awesome Hands – part 50

“Smite the dust of the land”

Up until this study, we have covered two of the ten plagues that befall Egypt. In the study today, we are going to look at what happens as the Pharaoh has his heart hardened once again resulting in the Lord sending the next two plagues to Egypt.

“The Pharaoh sees relief”

Exo 8:15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.

As we discussed last study, and up until this next plague we are going to read about, the Pharaoh has witnessed 3 miracles and 2 plagues.

The first miracle was that of Aaron’s serpent swallowing the serpents of the sorcerers. The second was the first plague of the water turning into blood, and the third was the frogs destroyed everything on the land.

The plague of the frogs was enough for the Pharaoh to ask Moses to petition the Lord to take away the plague. However, this will not be a lasting petition once the Pharaoh gains relief, respite.

With this, the Lord is going to bring about lice/gnats/fleas. This particular plague is going to be a specific turning point however, because the magicians will not be able to duplicate this plague.

This will be the start of the magicians no longer being able to deceive with their “strange fire.”

Exo 8:16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
Exo 8:17 And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
Exo 8:18 And the magicians did so with their enchantments (H3909) to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast.

There is a point when we all experience in our walk with God, that the “fire which comes down from heaven,” and can be called upon by even babylonish ministers, will no longer be blessed to happen by the will of God.

It may seem odd that I am connecting this plague with the aspect of “fire from heaven,” but let us dive into the scripture to see if there is a precedent for this important connection.

If you will recall, the enchantments which are being performed up until this point actually represent those things done in secret since the Hebrew word “enchantment” used here means “secretly.”

As a reminder, here are two verses used which convey this thought.

1Sa 18:22 And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David secretly (H3909), and say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: now therefore be the king’s son in law.

1Sa 24:4 And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily (H3909).

“The finger of God”

As a result of the magicians being unable to duplicate this miracle, they refer to this as “the finger of God.”

Exo 8:19 Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.

Why is this important?

What is telling are the times we see the finger of God being mentioned in scripture.

Exo 8:19 Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.

This is the first example, but as you will be given to see Lord willing, it is but the start of the explanation of the process the Lord uses to separate His people from the rest of the world.

This is typified by Egypt in this story and broadened in scope with the fourth plague of flies.

The next two examples help to point this out.

Exo 31:16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
Exo 31:17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
Exo 31:18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, TABLES OF STONE, written with the finger of God.

Deu 9:7 Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD.
Deu 9:8 Also in Horeb ye provoked the LORD to wrath, so that the LORD was angry with you to have destroyed you.
Deu 9:9 When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water:
Deu 9:10 And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.
Deu 9:11 And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant.
Deu 9:12 And the LORD said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image.

So, we have the plague of lice coming forth from the “dust of the land” being turned into lice and being referred to as an act of the “finger of God.”

The next time we see an act of God referenced in this way, we see it referenced when the Ten Commandments are written and given to God’s people.

What then are we being taught? What are the admonitions from which we can learn from and apply to our lives today?

Luk 11:16 And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.
Luk 11:17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.
Luk 11:18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.
Luk 11:19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.
Luk 11:20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.

Connecting all of these verses together, allows us to paint a very clear spiritual picture of the
sign of the times,” which is upon us when we recognize what we are being told.

Christ clearly states that He casts out devils with the finger of God, so how does this relate to the lice which have been converted from the “dust of the land,” and the very next plague which follows the lice?”

Exo 8:18 And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast.
Exo 8:19 Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
Exo 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.

This time around, the Lord our God is going to make a new covenant. The making of a new covenant, of a new testament of what is going to happen is going to be shown with force of the power of God.

This can be seen in how the Lord makes a covenant with Israel via the Ten Commandments. This can be seen as Christ brings the power of the NEW Covenant that God makes with His people, via the the will of God, and the MIND that Christ ushers in with His presence on this earth.

This is all typified in the truth that the first plague was that which remained in the water. The second plague came up out of the water, and this third plague in the process makes its way via the HEAVENS, “the sky”, the wind and air and that which is ABOVE.

Do you think me crazy, a lunatic for speaking such things? What did we just read as examples of this process and did Christ speak of the same things I speak to you now?

Let us see, if the lice and flies spoken of in Exodus, are the same type and shadow of what I speak to you now.

Mat 16:1 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.
Mat 16:2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
Mat 16:3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

Here is the “sign of the time” happening to Egypt and the people of God during this plague and the one to follow.

Exo 31:18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, TABLES OF STONE, written with the finger of God.

Deu 9:10 And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to ALL THE WORDS, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.

And the result is …

Isa 29:5 Moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly.

Isa 29:6 Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring FIRE.

Isa 30:30 And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring FIRE, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.

Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15 He that WALKETH righteously, and SPEAKETH uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

It is now that we have arrived at the difference in God separating His people and causing them to undergo the same plagues which befall Egypt.

It is now that we are at the start of being called out of her.

The very sign of this tremendous and miraculous event in our spiritual lives is that of the sign of Jonah.

Mat 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

In the context of this plague, here is that sign:

Exo 8:21 Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.
Exo 8:22 And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth.
Exo 8:23 And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall THIS SIGN BE.

The Lord is the Lord our God while we are IN EGYPT. He is our God causing us to ERR while in the MIDST of the EARTH. It is the miracle of the “striking of the dust” which caused the DUST to TURN INTO something that goes into the HEAVENLIES!

It is the striking of the dust which then leads into the next progression of being separated BECAUSE we are now in the heavenlies, in type and shadow, represented by the flies which DO NOT befall the Jews.

It is the Lord alone who causes us ALL TO ERR, and it is the LORD ALONE who will cause DIVISION to happen so that He can call us forth from WITHIN the HEART of the EARTH….. the same EARTH which we previously had our treasure in.

Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Didn’t Christ do the same thing? Was He not in the “heart of the earth” and then through process taken to the “promised land?” Just where is it that Christ ascended to?

Mat 12:39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and ADULTEROUS generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
Mat 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Mat 12:41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the PREACHING of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
Mat 12:42 The queen of the south shall rise up IN THE JUDGMENT with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to HEAR THE WISDOM of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
Mat 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.

Do you doubt this? Do you doubt that you were once just like the Egyptians but it was God who by division separated you unto Himself?

Isn’t it intriguing that Christ talks about an adulterous generation seeking a sign and that same generation will be JUDGED?

Who again is it that dwells in the FIRE comfortably? The FIRE is the WORDS OF GOD!

“For I am tormented in this flame”?

Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luk 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

There is another mount which should connect this nicely together for all of us. It is the mount of Olives.

Joh 8:1 Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.
Joh 8:2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
Joh 8:3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
Joh 8:4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
Joh 8:5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
Joh 8:6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
Joh 8:7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
Joh 8:8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
Joh 8:9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
Joh 8:10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
Joh 8:11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

When God comes to separate His people, He is going to make a covenant which for all intents and purposes was designed for Israel to be faithful to. However, we know that just like with Pharaoh, the Lord hardens their stiff necks and hearts to not OBEY their Husband.

Exo 8:22 And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth.

Rev 2:12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;
Rev 2:13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Pharaoh’s thoughts and intents are made manifest by these plagues and continues to be used to harden his heart.

Exo 8:23 And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.
Exo 8:24 And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies.

It is during this time that the flies (the positive application is that they are in the heavenlies “flying” around) DESTROY the land.

This is to say that the start of the OLD MAN being DESTROYED starts during this time. The old man and new man are having themselves separated and it is all done with the Word of God, which is also the mind of Christ, the Father’s Word.

Exo 8:25 And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.
Exo 8:26 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?

We are NOT to return to the abominations of the Egyptians and “sacrifice their abomination”. This is what the Pharaoh wants Moses and Aaron to do.

However, the Lord commands that we go to “His land”, that we process into the wilderness to start our journey to mount Sion.

Exo 8:27 We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us.
Exo 8:28 And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.
Exo 8:29 And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.
Exo 8:30 And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD.
Exo 8:31 And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.
Exo 8:32 And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.

The old man simply will not give up. It will take an utter DEATH experience and killing of the “old man” and all that he represents before this battle will be over.

In the next study, we are going to continue to see how we are admonished to “live, and breath and have our being” in what the Lord commands of us. If we do not, “DEATH of the BEASTS” will be the result. What do you think Pharaoh will do?