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Does New Testament Grace Eliminate our Obligation to Obey God’s Commands?

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A listener to John Piper’s podcast recently asked him a question about the roller coaster of Bible reading. A steady diet of Scripture can take a person consistently through cycles of promise, warning, assurance, and threat. What are we to make of that?

In the process of answering the question, Piper offers a keen answer to an important question: Does the grace of God in the New Testament eliminate our obligation to obey God’s commands?

Piper says:

And here’s what our friend, who sent this question, is drawing our attention to: God uses both promises and threats to motivate that obedience to his commandments. Lest anybody say, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. I don’t even need the word commandments. We shouldn’t even use the word commandments in the New Testament. That’s an Old Testament idea. We don’t live by commandments in the New Testament. That’s law. We live under grace.” To that I respond…

I won’t paste his excellent response. You’ll have to go check it out for yourselves.

Let’s Not Employ the Gospel as Justification to Keep Sinning

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In Romans 6:1, the apostle Paul asks a crucial question to clarify a potential misapplication of his gospel: “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” In other words, does the grace of God give believers permission to continue in their sin without ever having to change?

By no means!

Photo by Ray Harrington on Unsplash

An Old Problem

Misconstruing God’s grace in this way was not unique to Paul’s mission or Paul’s gospel. This problem is not a strictly Pauline one. Consider Jeremiah’s fiery words in the Jerusalem temple of his day, shortly before its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar:

Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: …Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes?

Jeremiah 7:3-11

The people of Israel committed all kinds of sin against their God, yet they trusted in God’s grace to get them through. They believed God’s grace was big enough to prevent them from having to actually change their behavior.

So the Lord goes on to tell them to look at the ruins of their previous sanctuary in Shiloh (from before the Philistines conquered them centuries earlier). This temple would end up the same way.

Today’s Gospel

Of course, we must be careful to preach Christ and him crucified whenever we lead Bible studies and teach the Scriptures. The good news about the Christ is the center of all of God’s revelation.

But we have misunderstood that message if we make it sound in any way as though people won’t have to change. As though coming just as they are means always remaining just as they are. As though repentance (change) were not the indispensable companion to belief (Mark 1:15).

I’ve found we must use caution with such phrases as “struggling with sin.” If by that phrase you mean that it is hard to put sin to death—but you are making progress in that direction—then well and good. Keep on keeping on!

But if by that phrase you really mean, “I’m sad about it, but I’m just going to have to live with it for the rest of my life,” then please reconsider what the whole point of the “struggle” ought to be (Col 3:5, Titus 2:11-14).

5 Reasons to Read the Bible Every Day

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Following up on last week’s Check It Out post to “chain yourself to the Word of God,” I’m eager to share this post by Jimmy Needham with “5 Reasons to Read the Bible Every Day.” According to Needham:

Before you get into God’s word, remember that becoming Bible-literate is not about being smarter, or beefing up your spiritual resume, or lording your knowledge over others. It’s about looking through the pages to the Savior on the other side. Jesus says, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:39–40). It’s about seeing and savoring Jesus Christ through his word. We don’t worship the font. We worship the Father.

Take this to heart, and Needham’s counsel will change your life. What are his 5 reasons?

  1. You cannot love God, and not listen to him.
  2. Your faith need promises to survive.
  3. We become like what we behold.
  4. You will only find the joy you want in words.
  5. There is work to be done.

The Bible teaches us that God loves the forgotten and the misfit. It shows us the value of shepherding our families. It introduces us to the generosity of other Christians (2 Corinthians 8:1–7), and calls us to be openhanded with what God gives us. It heralds the sanctity of every human life and inspires us to fight for the unborn. It declares that race should not be a barrier to Christian unity, but a beautiful occasion for it. We become equipped for every good work in the Bible.

Check it out!

Exodus 40: Great But Not Great Enough

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God’s rescued and rebellious people have been brought out of bondage and brought back to their glorious Master. They have done all he’s asked them to do in building his tent. How will Moses conclude this book?

Observation of Exodus 40:1-38

Most repeated words: tabernacle (17 times), Lord (14x), put (14), tent (14), Moses (13), set (13), meeting (12), up (12), altar (11), all (8), anoint (8), ark (8), commanded (8)

  • The clear focus is on the tabernacle/tent (31x), which Yahweh (14) commanded (8) and Moses (13) set (13) up (12) and put (14) in place for meeting (12) with Yahweh.

Scene 1: Yahweh’s speech to Moses (Ex 40:1-15)

  • Moses must erect the tabernacle exactly one year after they came out of Egypt (Ex 40:2, 17; Ex 12:1-2).
  • All the pieces must go in the right place (Ex 40:1-8):
    • Ark
    • Veil
    • Table
    • Lampstand
    • Incense altar
    • Screen door
    • Offering altar
    • Basin
    • Court
    • Screen gate
  • Moses must anoint (pour oil on) all these pieces, the structure itself, and the people who will serve as priests (Ex 40:9-15)

Scene 2: Moses’ obedience (Ex 40:16-33)

  • Moses did it, “according to all that Yahweh commanded him” (Ex 40:16). The repetition of this evaluation statement divides the steps of obedience into the following chunks:
    • Tabernacle, bases, frames, poles, pillars, tent covering (Ex 40:18-19)
    • Ark with tablets, poles, mercy seat, screen veil (Ex 40:20-21)
    • Table with bread on north side of outer room (Ex 40:22-23)
    • Lampstand with lamps on south side of outer room (Ex 40:24-25)
    • Golden altar with incense in front of screen veil to inner room (Ex 40:26-27)
    • Screen door, altar of burnt offering outside, with burnt offering and grain offering (Ex 40:28-29)
    • Basin with water, so Moses, Aaron, and sons can wash (Ex 40:30-32)
    • Court with screen gate (Ex 40:33)
  • I observe that the steps of Moses’ obedience exactly follow the order of Yahweh’s instructions from Ex 40:1-8.
  • When it’s over, we get a concluding narrative statement: “So Moses finished the work” (Ex 40:33b).

Scene 3: The aftermath (Ex 40:34-38)

  • Yahweh’s cloud covers the tent, and his glory fills the tabernacle (Ex 40:34).
  • Because of the cloud and the glory, Moses is not able to enter (Ex 40:35).
  • The cloud directs Israel’s camping route and schedule (Ex 40:36-38).

    John McSporran (2016), Creative Commons

Interpretation of Exodus 40

Some possible questions:

  1. Why are both tabernacle and priests anointed?
  2. Why does the narrator record Moses’ obedience in the same order as Yahweh’s command?
  3. Moses was able to enter (Ex 20:21, 24:18) and see (sort of: Ex 33:18-23, 34:5-8) the cloud of Yahweh’s glory. How come he can’t now enter the glory when it fills the tabernacle?
  4. Why does the book end by relegating the glory cloud to the role of wilderness tour guide?

My answers (numbers correspond to the questions):

  1. The priests are linked to the tabernacle by being treated in the same way—getting oil dumped on them. They are also linked by having the same purpose of the anointing: to consecrate them, or make them holy (that is, special). These special men are now linked to this special place in a special way. They work together to make “Immanuel” possible.
  2. Exodus 35-39 showed outrageous obedience on the part of the craftsmen and people. Now we see Moses, as the leader, is just as faithful in all God’s house (Heb 3:2). Also, if God is the Creator of the new creation tabernacle in Ex 25-31, Moses is now the new creator, in God’s image. The concluding “So Moses finished the work” is fitting when compared to Yahweh’s work (Gen 2:2).
  3. Certainly something has shifted. When things were just getting set up, Moses entered the glory to show Yahweh’s inclusion of his glorified mediator in his covenant purposes. But now that the tabernacle is erected, perhaps we have here some foreshadowing that this “new covenant” is not new enough. There must be something better than this. This can’t be the full and final relationship with Immanuel that we’ve been waiting for.
  4. This is a fulfillment of Yahweh’s promise to go up with the people into the land he had promised them (Ex 33:14). It also shows both how dependent the people are on Yahweh’s glory to guide them, and how they are unable to enter the glory in the tabernacle (all they can do is watch and follow; they cannot enter). Finally, it ends the narrative right where it began (Ex 1:1): with the people of Israel moving from one place to another, looking for the ultimate fulfillment of Yahweh’s promises. This cannot be the end of their story.

Train of thought:

  • Put all the pieces together so we can dwell together.
  • He puts all the pieces together so they can dwell together.
  • But they can’t actually dwell together yet.

Main point: While the tabernacle reveals the magnificent glory of God with us, there is something even more glorious yet.

Connection to Christ: These people long for the day when they can really and truly live with their God. Little did they know he would come to live with them (Matt 1:21-23). He would lead his people into yet greater obedience, as they behold the glory of his grace and truth (John 1:14).

My Application of Exodus 40

Head: I can trust God’s good purposes when I feel tension between the already and the not yet. I already have everything I need in Christ: his presence with me by his Spirit, empowering me to obey his commands. Yet, it will become even more wonderful and glorious when I can set my aside once and for all to be with him forever.

Heart: My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. If he is not with me, what hope do I have?

Hands: The grace of God teaches me to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live a self-controlled, upright, and godly life (Titus 2:11-12) while I wait for my blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of my great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13-14). I don’t need a second helping of dessert tonight. I can restrain my harsh words to my children. I can respond to my discouragement with the hope of what Jesus is doing in the world.

Click here to see what I’m doing with this sample Bible study and why I’m doing it.

Exodus 35-39: Outrageous Obedience

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Though Yahweh’s people don’t deserve his presence, he has handed them more of himself. How will this fact affect their covenant relationship? What will happen to all the blueprints for the tabernacle? We’ve decided not to freak out over the massive repetition of tabernacle details. So how do we understand these closing chapters of Exodus? I will focus on the new material.

Observation of Exodus 35-39

Ten most repeated words: made (81 times), gold (48x), all (46), two (36), base (30), cubits (28), Lord (28), one (26), work (26), frame (25)

  • clearly, this section is about gathering all the materials and constructing the tabernacle
  • I’ll mention one other prominent repeated word, though it’s not in the top 10: commanded (19 times). It occurs in both the first and last verses of this section, as well as at key points throughout.

The narrative picks up exactly where Yahweh’s instructions had left off: with the weekly cycle of 6 working days followed by one Sabbath day (Ex 35:1-3, compare with Ex 31:12-17).

  • Moses’ words in Ex 35:2 are almost an exact repetition of Yahweh’s words in Ex 31:15, even standing by the death penalty for disobedience.
  • But Moses adds a new instruction: kindle no fire in your dwellings on the Sabbath (Ex 35:3).

Moses then moves to the next “commandment” of Yahweh: to take a contribution for the tabernacle’s materials (Ex 35:4-9).

  • Not just anyone is to give. The focus is on “whoever is of a generous heart” (Ex 35:5).

Then he addresses the “skillful craftsmen”: come and make all that Yahweh has commanded (Ex 35:10-19).

  • Moses lists all the parts and pieces of the tabernacle to be built.
  • The pieces are listed here in the same order their construction is narrated in Ex 36:8-39:23. See my outline.
    • The only exceptions are the inside veil and the outside entrance curtain for the tabernacle. They are woven along with the tent curtains in Ex 36, but this list puts them in more logical places (veil after ark; entrance screen after remaining inside furniture—Ex 35:12, 15).
    • This makes this inventory list a table of contents for the next few chapters.

Next, we see the people going crazy to contribute the requested materials (Ex 35:20-29).

  • This long paragraph once again lists all the materials by name.
  • The paragraph begins by mentioning “everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him” (Ex 35:21).
  • The paragraph tells of both men and women (Ex 35:22, 29).
  • Everyone, who could contribute, did (Ex 35:24).
  • Women used their hands to create the right cloth (Ex 35:25-26).
  • The leaders also brought precious materials (Ex 35:27-28).
  • The paragraph closes with a comprehensive mention of “all the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them…brought it” (Ex 35:29).
  • And it was all for “the work that Yahweh had commanded by Moses to be done” (Ex 35:29).

Moses then appoints Bezalel and Oholiab to the primary work of craftsmanship (Ex 35:30-36:1), just as Yahweh had said in his sixth speech (Ex 31:1-11).

The craftsmen begin their work by receiving and inventorying the people’s contributions (Ex 36:2-7).

  • The craftsmen get so overwhelmed by the daily contributions (Ex 36:3) that they must leave their work (Ex 36:4) and appeal to Moses regarding the surplus (Ex 36:5).
  • Moses must “command” and “restrain” the people from bringing more (Ex 36:6).
  • Because, in case you didn’t get it, “the material they had was sufficient…and more” (Ex 36:7).

The craftsmen craft everything, in the order listed in Ex 35:10-19, exactly as Yahweh had commanded in Ex 25-31 (Ex 36:8-39:31).

  • The only significant interruption to the narrative (i.e. the only main thing that is not a repetition from Ex 25-31) is the inventory of resources used in Ex 38:24-31.
  • But there is also a not-so-subtle insertion into the narration of the crafting of the priests’ garments in chapter 39.
    • “As Yahweh had commanded Moses,” “as Yahweh had commanded Moses,” “as Yahweh had commanded Moses”…seven times (Ex 39:1, 5, 7, 21, 26, 29, and 31).

Finally, the section ends with yet one more inventory of tabernacle pieces (Ex 39:32-43).

  • The work was finished (Ex 39:32).
  • The people did, once more, “according to all that Yahweh had commanded Moses” (Ex 39:32).
  • The list occurs in the same order as the list in Ex 35:10-19, which is also the same order of narration in Ex 38:8-39:32.
  • According to all that Yahweh had commanded Moses, so the people did (Ex 39:42).
  • Moses saw the work; behold they had done it (Ex 39:43).
  • As Yahweh had commanded, so had they done it (Ex 39:43).
  • Then Moses blessed them (Ex 39:43).

Structure:

  • Moses issues Yahweh’s commands (Ex 35:1-19)
    • Work and rest (Ex 35:1-3)
    • Contribute (Ex 35:4-9)
    • Craft (Ex 35:10-19)
      • First inventory (Ex 35:11-19)
  • The people obey, in every particular, and more (Ex 35:20-39:31)
    • They get to work (Ex 35:20-21)
    • They contribute (Ex 35:21-29)
    • The craftsmen begin (Ex 35:30-36:1)
    • The craftsmen have to restrain the people from contributing further (Ex 36:2-7)
    • The craftsmen build, according to the inventory list (Ex 36:8-39:31)
  • Evaluation of their efforts (Ex 39:32-43)
    • Finished work, according to Yahweh’s command (Ex 39:32)
    • Closing inventory (Ex 39:33-41)
    • Moses sees the work and blesses the people (Ex 39:42-43)

      Magnes Museum (2005), Creative Commons

Interpretation of Exodus 35-39

Some possible questions:

  1. Why does the narrative of Ex 35:1-3 pick up exactly where the instructions of Ex 31:12-17 left off?
  2. Why does Moses add the new instruction not to kindle fires in their personal dwellings on the Sabbath?
  3. Why is Moses concerned that contributions come only from those who are of a generous heart (Ex 35:5)?
  4. Why does the work (Ex 36:8-39:31) follow the same order as the inventories (Ex 35:11-19, 39:33-41)?
  5. What is the point of the closing paragraph (Ex 39:32-43)?

My answers (numbers correspond to the questions):

  1. It is as though the events of Ex 32-34 didn’t even happen. Everything proceeds as it ought to have, as though they never turned aside to worship the golden calf. Yahweh clearly remembers their sins no more.
  2. The tabernacle instructions began with God’s intent to dwell with his people (Ex 25:8, 29:45-46). There is no such statement of intent here. Instead, we’re reminded that each Israelite family has its own dwelling. And the Sabbath day is a reminder of God’s dwelling place with his people, such that there must be no fires in their dwellings to compete with the fire in his dwelling. No wonder the next recorded sin involves the bringing of “strange fire” to Yahweh’s dwelling, in competition with Yahweh’s own fire (Lev 9:23-10:3).
  3. God doesn’t just want their stuff; he wants their hearts. This is the very problem he sought to address in Ex 32-34 (see Ex 32:8). It’s no coincidence that the first item on every list of resources is gold (Ex 35:5, 38:24). God doesn’t really need their gold (which they could use to fashion a calf); he wants their hearts.
  4. With the triple repetition (first inventory list, narrative of crafting items in same order, closing inventory list), the narrator shows the perfect obedience to all that Yahweh has commanded. Combine this with the sevenfold insertion in chapter 39: “as Yahweh commanded Moses.” Combine this also with the near-exact repetition of Ex 36:8-39:31 with Ex 25:1-31:18. Combine this as well with the over-the-top statements in the concluding paragraph (Ex 39:32, 42-43). Put all this together, and we see an unblinking focus on the perfect and complete obedience of these remade, Spirit-filled people, to all that Yahweh has commanded them.
  5. In addition to giving a place for clear statements of the people’s obedience (Ex 39:32, 42-43), the closing paragraph also completes the links we saw between the crafting of the tabernacle and the creation of the world. But with a major progression. In Genesis 1 and 2, God is the one who “sees” the completed work of creation and blesses his subordinates (Gen 1:31, 1:28). But now, it is Moses who stands in that place of seeing, evaluating, and blessing (Ex 39:43).What a glorious elevation of God’s people!

Train of thought:

  • Yahweh commands.
  • The people obey (to the extreme).
  • It is good. It is all good.

Main point: When God empowers his people with the glory of his grace and truth, his redeemed, new covenant people are able to do everything just as he commands.

Connection to Christ: Of course, these people don’t last long. Their leaders offer strange fire. They doubt God’s promises. They repudiate his commands. They hope in their tabernacle instead of in their God. Their hearts move far from him. They fall in the wilderness.

  • They (we) need God to take on flesh and dwell among them. He is filled with the Spirit (Luke 4:16-21). He can build his temple (John 2:19, Eph 2:19-22). He obeys everything the Father gives him to do (John 5:19-20, 30; Matt 5:17-20). Through his death and resurrection, he can now grant to his new covenant people all things that pertain to life and godliness, so they may partake in his divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-11).

My Application of Exodus 35-39

In Christ, I have everything I need to obey what God has commanded. My obedience does not earn his favor, but it flows from his favor. My obedience enables me to experience a deeper communion and intimacy with him (James 4:7-10). This is worth far more to me than whatever reward my disobedience deceptively promises.

No excuse for disobedience will ever carry weight. But it’s who I am. But she hurt me first. But the situation was out of control. But you would have done the same thing in my place. But nobody is perfect. Blah, blah, blah (Rom 6:12, 17-18).

Click here to see what I’m doing with this sample Bible study and why I’m doing it.

Exodus 23:20-33: The One Relationship You Must Never Neglect

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Moses stands upon Mount Sinai, having received many case laws to apply the ten commandments. Before he goes back down to the people, however, Moses must hear one last thing, an epilogue to the case laws.

Observation of Exodus 23:20-33

Most repeated words: land (5 times), not (5x), out (5), drive (4), all (3), enemy (3), gods (3), make (3), send (3), serve (3)

  • This section has mostly to do with what will happen when the people enter their new land.
  • The case laws now look forward to the fulfillment of God’s promise to settle them in the land promised to Abraham.

Verse 20 makes a sudden shift from what the people ought to do (case laws) to what God is doing (“I send an angel before you…”).

  • This section includes instructions for the people:
    • Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice – Ex 23:21
    • Carefully obey his voice and do all that I say – Ex 23:21
    • You shall not bow down – Ex 23:24
    • You shall serve Yahweh – Ex 23:25
    • You shall make no covenant – Ex 23:32
  • But it gives even more space to what God will do if they obey
    • I will be an enemy to your enemies – Ex 23:22
    • I blot them out – Ex 23:23
    • He will bless your bread and water – Ex 23:25
    • I will take sickness away – Ex 23:25
      • And 9 more actions in Ex 23:26-31

Though the passage begins with God’s angel (Ex 23:20), and mentions the angel again in Ex 23:23, there is an awkward alternation of pronouns between “he” (Ex 23:21, 22, 25) and “I” (Ex 23:23, 25, 26, etc.).

  • A prime example of the awkward alternation is right in verse 25: “You shall serve Yahweh your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you.”
  • Another example is verse 22: “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say…”

Clearly all the actions of God in Ex 23:25-31 hinge on the obedience of the people to the angel of God (Ex 23:22).

Barbara Skinner (2012), Creative Commons

Interpretation of Exodus 23:20-33

Some possible questions:

  1. Who is this angel sent by Yahweh?
  2. Why is the activity of God in the land dependent on the people’s obedience to the angel?
  3. Why do the case laws end with this epilogue?

My answers (numbers correspond to the questions):

  1. There is much overlap in identity between the angel and God himself. “My name is in him” (Ex 23:21). This angel has authority to pardon transgression (Ex 23:21). Obeying the angel’s voice (Ex 23:22) is practically the same as serving Yahweh (Ex 23:25). So this angel is simultaneously distinct from God (because God “sends” him) and the same as God (“obey his voice and do all that I say”). This angel plays a critical role as a manifestation of God’s presence among the people.
  2. The argument of the passage goes like this: “If you obey my angel, you obey me. And if you obey me, I will give you prosperity and success in the land of Canaan.” Great blessings come with obedience to God’s appointed representative. The way you treat God’s angel (the manifestation of his own presence) determines how God will treat you.
  3. This section deeply personalizes the body of instruction in Exodus 20-23. The point is not so much about following a set of principles, or about trying to keep God happy by doing the right things. The point of the laws is to bring the people of Israel closer to a person, the angel of Yahweh. The laws are meant to guide and shepherd the people into a closer relationship with God himself. Those who are close with God experience unspeakable blessing. Here is life: Life comes not from your performance or activity, but as a result of your steadfast trust in the one God sent to give you life.

Train of thought: See answer to question 2.

Main point: How you trust God’s angel determines how God treats you.

Connection to Christ: I have no problem saying this angel is Jesus, the second person of the Trinity. But, because the original audience had no concept of “the second person of the Trinity,” it might be more precise to say that this angel shows them exactly the role Jesus Christ would eventually have to play. He is the messenger sent by God, pardoning our transgression. How God treats us hinges on whether we give Jesus our allegiance. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son does not have life (1 John 5:12).

My Application of Exodus 23:20-33

The path of blessing will never come through obedience to a code of ethics or body of rules; it comes only through fiery allegiance to the one God has sent to pardon transgression. This truth should more deeply penetrate my leadership and parenting.

If I live according to this truth, I won’t merely multiply rules for my children; I will draw them close in relationship to Jesus Christ (and thus to me). I won’t be so disappointed when my will is crossed. I won’t be so quick to scold when expectations go unmet.

And, even when we study God’s law together, my church and small group ought not come away with only a list of things to do better (though this is not a bad thing). We will come away with inflamed passion and commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ, the one sent by God to take away the sin of the world. We never grow out of our need to work on this one relationship.

Click here to see what I’m doing with this sample Bible study and why I’m doing it.

Exodus 15:22-17:7: What are You Made Of?

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This week I return to my study of Exodus. Yahweh has demolished the house of slavery by training Moses as a qualified mediator, and by leading his people into a frightful deliverance. We now enter Act II of Exodus, where God prepares to rebuild by first inspecting what he’s got to work with.

Observation of Exodus 15:22-17:7

Most repeated words: Lord (33 times), Moses (25x), people (23), say/said (23), Israel (16), day (14), gather (11), grumble (10), morning (10), out (10), there (10), water (10), when (10).

  • By far, names make up the most repeated words. This passage gets more personal and intimate as God and Israel work on their new relationship.
  • The tenfold repetition of “grumble” seems rather ominous.

The length of each episode strikes me:

  1. Bitter water sweetened – 6 verses
  2. Manna and quail – 36 verses
  3. Water from rock – 7 verses

These 3 episodes are all about God’s provision for the people, but the unbalanced length of the central section leads me to think that one warrants more attention.

I see a significant progression through the episodes, marked by contrast:

  1. First, Yahweh tests the people to see if they will listen to him (Ex 15:25-26).
  2. Second, Yahweh tests the people to see if they will obey him (Ex 16:4).
  3. Third, the people test Yahweh to see if he is truly among them or not (Ex 17:2, 7).

Another contrast shows a similar regression:

  1. First, the people grumble, wondering what they can drink (Ex 15:24).
  2. Second, the people grumble about their hunger, wishing they had died in Egypt, and they accuse Moses of trying to kill them (Ex 16:2-3).
  3. Third, the people quarrel, demanding water to drink (Ex 17:2) and accuse Moses of trying to kill them and their children and livestock (Ex 17:3). Then they try to kill Moses (Ex 17:4).

One more thing really strikes me. In Ex 3:15, God told Moses, “I am Yahweh your God.” He promised the same to the Israelites in Ex 6:7. But other than that, we’ve had many repetitions of the shortened phrase “I am Yahweh” (Ex 6:2, 6:6, 6:8, 6:29, 7:5, etc. – 11 times). Now, after their frightening deliverance, he is no long simply “Yahweh” but “Yahweh your God” (Ex 15:26, 16:12), even “Yahweh your healer” (Ex 15:26). The relationship is now in place.

Xander Matthew (2014), Creative Commons

Interpretation of Exodus 15:22-17:7

Some possible questions:

  1. Why does the testing progress in this way?
  2. Why is the second section so much longer than the first and third sections?
  3. Why would these people try to kill Moses? How can they possibly think Moses (or Yahweh) would bring them out here just to kill them in the desert?

My answers (numbers correspond to the questions):

  1. Two things are clear: 1) Yahweh tests his people to see what they are made of, and 2) they don’t do so well on the test. First, Yahweh tests to see if they will trust him; if so, he promises never to treat them the way he treated the Egyptians (Ex 15:25-26). The following two scenes clearly show they don’t trust Yahweh. Second, Yahweh tests them to see if they will obey his law (Ex 16:4). Of course, he hasn’t given his law yet! All he gives them is a basic set of instructions for gathering manna (Ex 16:16). At first, they obey (Ex 16:17-18). But it goes downhill after that (Ex 16:19-20, 23-29). Third, the people take matters in their own hands by turning things around to test Yahweh (Ex 17:7). Why this progression? To paint a picture of a community that fails to trust and obey God. To show the downward spiral and ugly consequences of refusing to trust and obey. To show how life-giving God’s law could be for them.
  2. The second section gets into the details of God’s provision (both bread and quail from heaven). It outlines the downward progression of disobedience (obedience to first instruction—Ex 16:17-18, failure to listen to second—Ex 16:20, flat refusal and God’s displeasure with the third—Ex 16:28-29). In addition, this episode with the manna leads us to anticipate the giving of the law (Ex 16:4) and to see what’s really at stake: the identity and glory of Yahweh their God (Ex 16:6-7, 10).
  3. If they trust Yahweh, he will not treat them like Egyptians (Ex 15:26). But in seeking to murder Moses, they are still acting like Egyptians (Ex 17:4, 2:15). These episodes of lack and provision show us that, while the people have come out of Egypt, Egypt has not yet come out of the people.

Train of thought: 

  • Will they trust Yahweh?
  • No. Nor will they obey his law.
  • How can Yahweh be their God when they are still Egyptian (worldly, acting like pagans) through and through?

Main point: Yahweh must give his law to expose how completely distrustful, disobedient—and thereby undeserving—his people are of his fatherly care.

Connection to Christ: In no way did Jesus lower God’s standards (Matt 5;17-20, 48; 6:1, etc.). Grace doesn’t oppose law but elevates it, because only those who have been crushed by a standard of perfection will turn from themselves to trust and obey the savior of the world. And since the law has no power to save (Gal 2:16), Christ broke its curse for our sake (Gal 3:13-14), by being struck with the rod of fury and spewing the water of life for the world (1 Cor 10:4).

My Application of Exodus 15:22-17:7

I love hearing and meditating on God as my provider and healer. But when he fails to heal or provide on my time-table, I must remember his fatherly love and discipline (Prov 3:11-12). He tests us to expose what’s going on in our hearts; his righteous law is the greatest test. I must not resent his good law or his impossible standards. Instead, I can cling more closely to Christ, my righteousness.

As I shepherd others, I need never apologize for God’s law, especially it produces an ugly mess in someone’s life. And though the pain of life provides a good opportunity to empathize and show care, it also provides an opportunity to help people see what’s going on in their hearts. That’s okay, and it makes Christ shine all the more brightly.

Click here to see what I’m doing with this sample Bible study and why I’m doing it.