7 Lessons Leading to Pentecost

Well, special music was very, very beautiful. You may hear something that sounds similar to that tomorrow on Pentecost. Thank you so much for all the work and the beautiful way to sing praises to our great God. Well, good afternoon once again. As we prepare to celebrate the day of Pentecost tomorrow, I thought it might be helpful to review the events that led up to the very first celebration of that first Pentecost after Israel had left Egypt. Pentecost is the New Covenant term we use for this holy day today.

In the Old Testament, it was referred to as Shavut, or it was oftentimes referred to as the Festival of Reaping or the Day of First Fruits. The Book of Exodus, particularly chapters 15 through 19, where we'll be focusing today, record the nearly 50 days from crossing the Red Sea and the Seventh Day of Unleavened Bread until the congregation of Israel received the Ten Commandments on the day of Shavut in approximately 1443 B.C. What I hope to do today is to provide a possible scenario of their travels and the time frame and when they would stop on the Sabbath and the entire time frame of fitting in that approximately 50 days after they had left Egypt until they arrived at Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments.

That's what I hope to do today, and then we will see what lessons we can learn from their journey in our lives. And then finally, I'm going to give seven quick or brief lessons we can learn from their examples. So we're going to be covering a lot of ground today. Mr. Thomas is going to be speaking like Alvin the Chipmunk to get through all of this. So let's begin. We'll go in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 1, and we'll see what Paul said about the ancient Israelites who were traveling in that wilderness and what he understood about them, because I think it's a good way for us to start the sermon today.

1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 1. Paul wrote, Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud. And there was a cloud over ancient Israel. It was a cloud of protection. And God's presence, his divine presence of protection, was in that cloud. He said, All passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses, in the cloud and in the sea. All ate of the same spiritual food, all drank from the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. And of course, we know that Jesus Christ was the God of the Old Testament.

Verse 5 here, But with most of them, God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things became our examples to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. So we're going to read these events beginning in Exodus, chapter 15, if you'll begin turning there, because they're for our example. They lusted after the wrong kinds of things. They lusted after food.

They lusted after water. They were selfish. They were carnal. They were faithless. They were judgmental. They were condemning of God's leadership. And all of these things are an example that we can learn from today. So here, Paul tells us that by walking through the Red Sea in faith, the Israelites received a spiritual baptism that offered them a new life and new opportunities. Think of the parallel there. We come out of that baptismal tank, a new creature in Christ. Well, theirs wasn't quite that dramatic, but they did cross the Red Sea. They were entering a new land.

They were free from slavery. So they were being presented with a new life and new opportunities. However, you know, there's something they didn't receive. There's something they lacked, which was the origin of most of their problems. They lacked God's Holy Spirit. And we're going to see that that's obvious by their example. So even though they were baptized, and you know, one can be baptized and one can be set apart through baptism, and one can even be forgiven through baptism, but spiritual growth and discernment comes through being given the gift of God's Holy Spirit.

So with that background in mind, let's see the events that led up to that very first Shavuot, or Pentecost, again in approximately 1443 BC. We're going to go to Exodus chapter 15, and we'll pick it up here in verse 19. It says, for the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them.

But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea. Then Mary and the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timble in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Maryam answered them, Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously. We use the phrase that someone is on a high.

These people were on a high. Imagine the miracle. You were pinned against the sea. You thought you were dead. Suddenly, the sea parts, and where you're walking between these two huge walls of water, the ground is even dry. It's not even muddy. And as soon as you get across and your enemy is following you, the sea comes back again, and those huge waves engulf and devour your enemy. So he says, for he has triumphed gloriously.

The horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea. So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea. Then they went out into the wilderness of Shear, and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. Now, when they came to Merah, they could not drink the waters of Merah, for they were bitter. The very name Merah means bitterness. Therefore, the name was called Merah. Now, what we're going to see here is rather remarkable. Within just three days after they had witnessed that incredible miracle of the parting of the Red Sea from Piahirath into the wilderness, in just three days, they went from elation to bitterness, the bitter waters of Merah. As it says in Numbers chapter 33, there's no need for you to turn there, but I'll just read it. This is a parallel account of what's happening here. Numbers chapter 33 and verse 8, it says, they departed from before Piahirath and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, went three days' journey in the wilderness of Ethem and camped in Merah. So Israel arrived at Merah and camped there, most likely, on a weekly Sabbath. This would have been the first Sabbath after they had left Egypt crossing the Red Sea. Typically, what we will find is that the nation slowly traveled for six days of the week, and then they would stop in preparation and observe the Sabbath while the camp was resting.

Then when the Sabbath was over, they would typically start marching again. So three days later, they can't find any water. Maybe their hopes are up. They see this location, Merah. Hoo hoo water! Yeah! And they go there and they can't drink that water either because the water is bitter. Verse 24, and the people complained against Moses. Now, the Hebrew word complaint here, interestingly enough, it's spelled L-U-W-N. It's pronounced loon. And indeed, these people are acting like a bunch of loons. Three days after seeing one of the most incredible miracles that ever happened, can't this God who parted the Red Sea provide you water if he so desires? Here's a groundbreaking theology. Rather than complaining against Moses, how about dropping on your knees and saying, dear God, great Yahweh in the heavens, we're thirsty. We need water. Could you please provide some water for us so that we can continue to live? Isn't that a revolutionary thought?

But that's not what they do. The people complained against Moses, and the Hebrew word loon means to be obstinate, saying, what shall we drink? So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, and he cast it into the waters, and the waters were made sweet from bitter to sweet.

There he made a statute and an ordinance for them, and he there tested them and said, if you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, give ear to his commandments, and keep all of his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I brought on the Egyptians for I am the Lord who heals you. He said, I just proved it. I just healed the water.

Water that was undrinkable and bitter, I healed it, and now that water is sweet. Well, what does the tree represent? Well, the tree represents in the culmination of end time events, Revelation 22, verses 1 and 2, and I'll just read it to you. Think of this tree that God showed him, and what the tree did in making those bitter waters sweet. Revelation chapter 22, verse 1, and he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and the lamb in the middle of its street, and on either side of the river was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. So the tree represented Jesus Christ. The tree represented a time when God will not just heal a physical people, will not just heal water, but will provide living waters from the tree of life that will heal all the nations of the world. That's what this is symbolically representing. What's the lesson here? Well, the lesson here is have complete faith in God's divine providence and healing. God is our complete provider. He's not our sometimes provider.

He's not, when he feels like it, a provider. He is our complete provider, the same God who parted the waters at the Red Sea, the same God who could heal bitter waters and make them sweet as an all-powerful God who can provide for any of our genuine needs.

But we have to understand something here. We have to understand that we will always be quizzed to see how well our attitude is and to see how deep our faith is, because that's part of God's plan. God has a personal development plan for you, and part of that personal development plan is to throw roadblocks in your life to allow roadblocks to occur or allow you to make your own roadblocks, which is usually what we do. We create our own problems and see how we will react.

Will we react in faith and confidence and go to Him? Or will we complain? Will we get bitter? Will we get angry? Will we blame other people for those obstacles and problems? That, my friends, my brethren, is part of the quiz. Something we need to understand, and we're going to see here. Let's go to verse 27. Then they came to Elam, and there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees, so he camped there by the water. So again, as I mentioned earlier, each of these campsites indicates the passing of a week of travel and a Sabbath rest. The only time this is an exception is when they get very close to Sinai, they have a few extra stops that are not on the Sabbath day. So for two weeks at this point, Israel slowly progressed southeastward, roughly paralleling the shore of the Red Sea. Exodus 16, beginning in verse 1. And they journeyed from Elam, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of sin, which is between Elam and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt.

So this is naturally another Sabbath rest that's now occurring in the wilderness of sin.

The first day of unleavened bread was on the fifteenth day of the first month. We know that from Leviticus 23 and the instructions on the Hebrew calendar. So it's now been a full four weeks since the beginning of the days of unleavened bread, when this event occurs here in Exodus chapter 16 that we're reading about here in verse 1. It's also been three weeks since they crossed the Red Sea.

Let's go to verse 2. Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron. So once again, they were loaning against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said to them, Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full. For you have brought us out into this wilderness that killed us whole assembly with hunger. And, brother, death's delusional. I've read this story. They were slaves.

They were beaten all the time. They were worked like dogs. They were worked until they dropped dead because there was always a new generation to take their place. It's amazing, frankly, how the human mind, and I've noticed this about myself, and it might be a survival technique, but we have the ability to kind of soften the really negative things that happened in our past. And then even after a while, maybe even look at the past in a nostalgic way, even though there's no reason for nostalgic. It was horrible.

It was terrible. But our human minds have the ability to do that. And that's what they're doing here. Verse 4. Then the Lord said to Moses, Behold, I will reign bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, but I may test them whether they will walk in my law or not, and it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.

So already, in just a matter of a month, this is the second time that people complain against Moses. Why do they complain against Moses? Because he was their physical leader. They took out their frustrations on him, their frustrations that they had towards God, they were taking out on Moses.

They did not yet understand that God Almighty Himself was actually their leader, the one whom they could look to for physical sustenance, whom they could go to in prayer. In spite of their faithless, whining attitudes, a very patient and merciful God would still provide food for them here. He would also teach and reinforce the knowledge of His Sabbath day. So remember, the Sabbath goes all the way back to creation. Even though the Sabbath is part of the Ten Commandments, the Sabbath existed long before the Ten Commandments were given.

And here's another instance of where the Sabbath is instructed before the Ten Commandments are even given, which isn't to take place for a number of weeks yet. This daily miracle would provide the proof that God Almighty was their creator and that He was the invisible ruler and lawgiver of Israel. Notice that these early tests are not from the outside. This complaining, these things that they're experiencing, it's not from the big bad world attacking them.

It's not from Satan attacking them. The problem is their internal perception of events. It's not the inside. This is an inside job. How many times has Mr. Thomas talk and lecture about the importance of controlling our self-talk? It's an inside job that they're struggling with.

It's their perception of events. These problems are not from the world. The problems are generated from inside them and how they interpret obstacles and problems that arise. As we'll see, God will reinforce the Sabbath day because it's a memorial of creation. It identifies God as the one who created everything and it's also a test to see their level of obedience. As previously we read in Exodus chapter 15 and verse 24, God here is testing Israel to see whether they would obey Him and keep His instructions. So let's now go drop down to verse 9.

Then Moses spoke to Aaron, say to the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the Lord, for He has heard your complaints. Now came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked towards the wilderness and behold the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel speak to them, saying, at twilight you shall eat meat and in the morning you shall be filled with bread and you will know that I am the Lord your God.

So if the miracle of parting of the Red Sea wasn't enough, how about two miracles in 12 hours? How about in the desert meat showing up for you to eat? How about in the desert bread being provided for you to eat? Will you believe then? Will you have faith then? Will you stop complaining then? Verse 13. So it was that the quails came up in evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp, and when the layer of the dew lifted, there was on the surface of the wilderness, it was a small round substance as fine as frost on the ground, so when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, what is it?

In Hebrew, that's manna.

Where they did not know what it was. I've had some meals like that myself.

And Moses said to them, this is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. So what did the manna represent here? God miraculously provides bread for them, something for them to eat. Well, again, there's no need to turn to John chapter 6 and verse 48, but I will tell you what Jesus Christ himself said, because he said, I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I shall give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. And of course, we in the New Covenant respond to that every Passover. We partake of that piece of matzo that represents the body, the broken body of Jesus Christ who sacrificed his flesh that was torn and broken for us so that we could be reconciled to God.

Now let's go to verse 19. And Moses said, let no one leave any of it till morning. Notwithstanding, they did not heed Moses, but some of them left part of it until morning, and it breadworms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. Verse 21, so they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melded. And so it was on the sixth day that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers, for each one. And of course, this was so that they didn't have to do it on the Sabbath day. They would have a double portion on the preparation day for the Sabbath. And it says, and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses, and he said to them, this is what the Lord has said. Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake today, boil what you will boil, and lay up for yourselves all that remains to be kept until morning. So there's the instruction, again, of the seventh day Sabbath, the one that we still observe millennia later because of God's instruction. So here's yet another Sabbath mentioned in our journey. Both the fourth and fifth Sabbaths, since the days of unleavened bread, were spent here in the wilderness of sin. Bow down to verse 24. So they laid it up till morning, Moses commanded, and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. Then Moses said, eat that today, for today is the Sabbath of the Lord. Today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, there will be none. Now, it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. And the Lord said to Moses, how long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? In 21st century vernacular, we would say, what part of no don't you understand? I gave you very clear instruction, and some of the people just don't get it. Verse 29c, for the Lord has given you the Sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day, and the house of Israel called its name Manah, which means basically what is it? And it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. Then Moses said, this is the thing which the Lord has commanded, fill an omer with it to be kept for your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt. And Moses said to Aaron, take a pot and put an omer of manna in it, and lay it up before the Lord to be kept for your generations. As the Lord has commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the testimony to be kept, and the children of Israel ate manna 40 years until they came to an inhabited land, they ate manna, until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. Verse 36 now, an omer is one tenth of an ephath. A miracle every day for 40 years. Do you think it built their faith?

Do you think it made them faithful? Brother and I've had individuals say to me, oh, Mr. Thomas, if I only saw just one miracle, then I could believe. Just one miracle in my lifetime, I would believe forever. I would no longer doubt God. I would no longer doubt His providence or the fact that He exists. If I could just see and experience one miraculous event. And my response to anyone who says that is, you're kidding yourself. That's not what that's not how human nature works.

Many years, I was a regional sales manager, and here's what I often experienced after the end of a month. Well, Greg, you had a record month last month. You broke sales records. Incredible, good job. I just want to let you know how much I appreciate what you've done. However, today, we are in the third day of the new month, and your sales look like they're a little bit down.

So, Greg, what have you done for me lately? And you know, that's the dark side of human nature. We do tend to take things for granted. These people saw a miracle every day for 40 years. They witnessed the parting of the Red Sea. We'll see a few more miracles that occur before they reach Mount Sinai, and did it deepen their faith? No, because faith is something that has to be generated on the inside.

Faith is the evidence of things not seen. If I see it, if I can taste it, if I can smell it, if I can touch it, if I can hear it, then I have proof I don't need faith anymore. Faith is generated from the inside when you cannot detect it with any of your human senses. That's what faith is. All right, let's pick it up here again in Exodus chapter 17. Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set on their journey, set out on their journey from the wilderness of sin according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped in Raphidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore, the people contended with Moses. Now, this isn't just complaining. This is a whole different Hebrew word. This goes beyond the complaining that they did in previous times. I'll talk about the word in a minute. The people contended with Moses and said, give us water that we may drink. And Moses said to them, why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord? And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses and said, why is it that you have brought us out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst? So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, what shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me. So this is much more severe than a complaint. Actually, this Hebrew word, where it says contended in verse two, is the Hebrew word, rub, R-U-W-B. And it means to wrangle, to chide, to contend against. This is aggression. This isn't just verbal complaining. That's why Moses said to these people, they're getting violent. They're getting nasty. They are ready to stone me, Lord. We must do something. So again, I want you to notice that they're still taking their carnal frustrations out on their physical leader, Moses. But this episode, following the previous episodes, teaches us a very vital lesson. Guess what happens when our attitude stinks?

When our attitude, like day-old manna, stinks and breeds worms. Guess what happens when we fail to pass a test? I don't know what schools are like today, but I can tell you, being a product of the Cleveland school system, that when I was a child in elementary school, here's how it worked. We would be given tests. And the test that Gregory would fail, which my parents reminded me were far too many. Gregory would be required to take the test again until he passed it. And here's the life lesson here. What happens when we fail to pass a test? And by the way, having a stinking attitude is failing the test. Even if by appearance it turns out okay, I can assure you you will be taking that test again. You get to repeat it all over again. The same problem they experienced, we read about in Exodus chapter 15 and verse 22, at Mara, was the lack of drinking water. They didn't learn anything from that, even though God was merciful and solved the problem. They learned zero from that experience. So it was time to take the test all over again. Same is true of us, brethren.

Same is true in our lives. When we are tested and our negatives are destructive, we will be tested over and over again in the same way again, even if things appear to turn out all right.

Yogi Berra used to say, it's deja vu all over again. And I have to tell you that I know it, brethren. If you've ever seen the movie Groundhog Day, I know of brethren who have been living in Groundhog Day, struggling with the same problems and issues 20, 30, 40 years, because their attitude is wrong, because they lack faith. So they're going to keep, God's going to keep allowing them to take that test until they deal with the problem. And the problem might be too much drinking.

The problem might be your marital relationship. The problem might be that you're greedy, or selfish, or stubborn, or a know-it-all, or self-righteous, or too judgmental. And we're going to keep taking that test over and over again until, with the right attitude and perspective and faith, we pass the test. Well, for Israel, things got more difficult as they left the wilderness of sin.

They were now entering the most desolate part of the desert, and because of that, there were a few extra non-sabbath stops after leaving the wilderness towards Rephedom during the week of rest.

They needed to allow for some weaker members in the march to catch up. And I'll just read, again, the parallel account in Numbers chapter 33 and verses 12 through 14. I'll just read a list of their short journeys that occurred before their next regular Sabbath rest, which is mentioned in Exodus chapter 17 verse 1 here. We just read, they journeyed from the wilderness of sin. It says they camped in Dopfah. They departed from Dopfah and camped in Eluch, and they moved from Eluch and camped in Rephedom, where there was no water for the people to drink. I'll just go to verse 5, Exodus chapter 17 and verse 5, and the Lord said to Moses, Go on before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb, and you shall strike the rock. And the water will come out of it that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel, so he called the name of the place Massah and Maraba because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us or not? So why did Moses strike the rock? The rock represents Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ, in order for us to have a relationship with God, was beaten before he died. He was scourged. He had a crown of thorns rammed on top of his head that drew his blood. He had nails driven through his hands and his feet. He had a spear shoved in his side. He was beaten so that we could be reconciled to God so our sins could be forgiven. And Moses striking the rock was a reminder that there would be a Christ and that Christ would be beaten for the sins of the world for forgiveness to be possible. They failed this test, ancient Israel did, complaining and griping about water while getting aggressive towards Moses. And guess what happens when you fail a test? You get the joy of another test. When you fail a test of faith with a poor attitude, you get to repeat it. And you know what? Those tests normally come right out of the blue. It's something you didn't prepare for. It's something you didn't expect. Verse 8, now Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. Where did they come from? They weren't mentioned in any of these chapters leading up to this point.

They come out of nowhere. The Amalekites, an ancient nation that dwelled in the desert area, arrived for battle on this sixth Sabbath after Israel had left Egypt and Rephidim. This was an unexpected attack from the world. God wants us, brethren, to learn an important lesson from this experience that ancient Israel suffered. The attack of Amalek against Israel is symbolic of the accusations, the persecution, the aggression that you will begin to receive when you start a relationship with God. Being a Christian makes you different. Keeping the seventh day Sabbath makes you different. From that point on, with many of your relatives and co-workers, you will have a target on your back.

It's a warning. Something else to be learned here. If you're not dealing with the issues on the inside and you keep failing the test, you will also have the privilege of experiencing trials from the outside. From nowhere, from seemingly an unrelated place where you didn't expect a problem, one will absolutely occur.

It's part of that quiz. It's part of that passing the test that we talk about so often.

Verse 9, and Moses said to Joshua, Choose some of the men and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand. So Joshua did as Moses said to him and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and her went up to the top of the hill. And so it was when Moses held up his hand that was symbolic of persistent prayer, prayer to God, when he held up his hand that Israel prevailed and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands became heavy. So they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it and Aaron and her supported his hands, one on one side and the other on the other side. And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. This implies the battle lasted all day. A slog, a really difficult trial. So Joshua defeated Amalek and the people with the edge of the sword. This is the first time here, going back to verse 10, that Joshua is mentioned. You know what Joshua was? Who he was symbolic of?

The name of Jesus in Hebrew is Yeshua, Joshua. This Joshua represented the commander. Jesus Christ is our commander. This commander defeated his enemy that attacked God's people, just like Jesus Christ is our commander, who protects us. And indeed, he will come back to earth with a sword in his hand and strike the nations. Verse 14, and the Lord said to Moses, write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And indeed, that did occur by the time of Saul. I might add, verse 15, and Moses built an alder and called its name, the Lord is my banner. That is Yahweh Nisi, or Yehovah Nisi. For he said, because the Lord has sworn, the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. And indeed, that did occur until Saul permanently solved the problem.

So even though Israel was vulnerable, just like we are, God fought their battle for them. And God will fight our battles for us. We need to be faithful. We need to be close to God in prayer.

We need to be using his spirit to deal with our issues and stop fluffing them off and living in denial of our problems. And if we're willing to do that, God will be by our side. He will fight our battles for us, and we will prevail. Exodus chapter 18, and Jethro, the priest of Midi and Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, and the Lord that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt, then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back, in other words, Moses had sent her to be safe with Jethro, with her two sons, of whom the name of one was Gershom, for he said, I have been a stranger in a foreign land, and the name of the other was Eliezer, for he said, the God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh. Verse 5, and Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness, where he was encamped at the mountain of God. So Moses' father-in-law shows up with Moses' wife and his children. I like to say that Jethro was like a typical father-in-law. He shows up unexpected, he kisses his grandchildren, he eats your food, he tells you you're wrong, and then he leaves. Verse 13, and so it was on the next day that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. So when Moses' father-in-law saw that all he did for the people, he said, what is this thing that you're doing for the people? Why do you sit alone? Why are you making all of these decisions?

You're self-he's saying, and I'll put it in 21st century vernacular, you're too autocratic, Moses. You're trying to do everything yourself. You need to learn to delegate. It's a modern business term. You need to delegate. And all the people stand before you from morning until evening, and Moses said to his father-in-law, because the people come to me to inquire of God, when they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another, and I make known the statutes of God in his law. So Moses' father-in-law said to him, the thing that you do is not good, both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. He says, think of you all day long. Think of the people waiting in line in the hot sun for hours just to see you. Moses, it doesn't work.

For this thing is too much for you. You are not able to perform it by yourself. Listen now to my voice, and I will give you counsel, and God will be with you. Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God. Verse 20, he's giving him some mentoring skills, and you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way. Start being an example, Moses. Start being a teacher. Start being a coach. Be a mentor, in which they must walk, and the work that they must do. Verse 21, Moreover, you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness, and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, and then rulers of hundreds, and rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens, so hierarchical areas of leadership. Verse 22, And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you. Verse 23, If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will go to their place in peace. I want you to know there's something that most people miss. First of all, Jethro is a priest of Midian. God works through this man.

We don't know what kind of priest he was. He acknowledges Yahweh. We don't know exactly what that means. The scripture doesn't say he's a so-called priest of Midian. It doesn't say he's a self-appointed priest of Midian. It says he's the priest of Midian. He obviously was Moses' mentor.

He lived with this man for 40 years, married his daughter, learned about the Hebrew calendar, the Semitic calendar from this man, obviously learned a lot about God from this man, and this man is so bold as to say that God commands you to do this.

So much for the theory that God only works through one man. The reality is, is God has the right to work through whoever he chooses to work through. He's working through Jethro, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and in a parallel way he's also working through Moses, the leader of the people of Israel. Again, he says, so God and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace. So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said, and Moses chose able man out of Israel and made them heads over the people's rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, rulers of tens. So they judged the people at all times, the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves. Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way into his own land. The remarkable story of Jethro, the priest of Midian.

The lesson we are given here is to be humble enough to listen to advice. His father-in-law gave him sound advice, and Moses, to his credit, was open-minded enough and humble enough to listen, not just listen, to change the way he did things. How about us, brethren?

Are we open-minded? Are we humble? Do we take advice, or do we go in for counseling already having the answer, already telling the counselor what I've decided to do? Then why counsel? If you've already decided to do something, what's the purpose of counsel?

There's a reason in Numbers 12 and verse 3. It says, quote, Now the man of Moses was very humble more than all men who were on the face of the earth.

Could the Scripture say that about me? Could the Scripture say that about you?

Are we humble? Are we open-minded? Are we teachable, much like those little children that Jesus would often use as a prop? This is what the kingdom of God is like this little child? Or are we too busy telling everyone how much we know? Exodus chapter 19, beginning in verse 1, in the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day they came to the wilderness of Sinai, for they had departed from Rephidim and Kem to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain, so they're all most there. By the time they break camp again, it's in the middle of the week, but thankfully they don't have far to go. I want you to notice that they were already camped at the foot of the mountain, Mount Horeb or Sinai, but they were not yet on the side of the mountain where they would not only receive the Ten Commandments, but frankly they were going to be encamped for nearly the next entire year. Most people don't realize that the setting of the rest of the book of Exodus, all the book of Leviticus, and numbers from chapters 1 to 10 verse 10, all occur in the wilderness of Sinai at this location. The words the same day refer to the same weekday they had left Egypt, most likely on a Thursday. On that day they must have moved around the mountain to their new campsite where God was going to speak to them. Verse 3, And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel, You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you in eagle's wings, and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people. For the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. God says, I want to set you apart. I want you to be a model nation, Israel. I want you to be a holy people, a kingdom of priests.

That message hasn't changed. God has the same message for his church today. Continuing, These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel. So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all the words which the Lord had commanded them. Then all the people answered together and said, All that the Lord has spoken we will do. So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord. Now down to verse 9, Then the Lord said to Moses, Behold, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you and believe you forever. So Moses told the words of the people to the Lord. Then the Lord said to Moses, Go to the people, and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. Now this very well could have been a preparation day for the Sabbath. And on this day before a Sabbath, God gave another message to Moses to speak to the people, and he tells them to consecrate themselves today in preparation for the next day, which is the Sabbath, and to consecrate themselves tomorrow, which is the Sabbath, in preparation for something that would follow on the day that we call Sunday.

Shavuot, what we today call the Feast of Pentecost. This upcoming consecrated Sabbath mentioned would have been the seventh Sabbath since the days of Unleavened Bread. Verse 11, So if this meeting is between God and Moses, is indeed, as we speculate, was the preparation day for the Sabbath, the preparation day for the Sabbath when God was instructing him, would have been the first day. The Sabbath itself would have been the second day. Shavuot, what we today call Sunday, would have been the third day when God would come down. Verse 16, And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain, and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it. In fire, its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered them by voice. Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai at the top of the mountain, and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. In the last scripture we will refer to as chapter 20, verse 1, and God spoke all of these words, saying, from this point on, God gives the Ten Commandments to the people. And we're not going to cover those today for the sake of time, and that's an entire sermon in itself. But on the third day, as God told them, after they had consecrated themselves, God came down on the day of Shavut, what we today call the Feast of Pentecost, and gave them his Ten Commandments. We've now covered the period of time between Israel crossing the Red Sea and arriving at Mount Sinai to receive God's Commandments on the Feast of Shavut, or what we today call Pentecost. So what are some of the lessons we can learn from this examination? I'm only going to take us five minutes. Here are some quick lessons to pull out of these scriptures that we have read that are good for us to understand. Lesson number one, being baptized without possessing the Holy Spirit may indeed set you apart. It may even provide forgiveness, but your faith will be limited and your spiritual growth stunted unless you have something else that they didn't have. That is the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said in John chapter 14 and verse 26, he said, but the helper, that Greek word was percletos, which means a helper, an advocate, one alongside to help you. I've referred to it as a spiritual mentor. But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, it will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. So number one is being baptized is wonderful, but it's not enough. We need to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And that is pictured, of course, on the day of Pentecost. We'll hear a lot more about that tomorrow. Number two, the second lesson is have complete faith in God's divine providence and healing. God isn't our partial provider. He isn't there just sometimes when he feels up to it. No, he is our complete provider, the same God who parted the waters of the Red Sea, the same God who brought water out of a rock is the same God who will give us living water. But understand that we will always be quizzed to see how well our attitude is and how deep our faith is. We need to expect it. Trials, tests, quizzes are part of God's personal development plan for you.

Number three, when we are frustrated at God or the way things turn out, don't take your frustration out on other people. They were frustrated with God. They were frustrated with circumstances. They were frustrated with events. And you know what they did each time? They hammered Moses.

Moses was the bad guy. It's your fault, Moses. Brother, we must learn to accept our own responsibility for our attitudes. We must own our attitudes and not blame others for our problems or how we might feel. Growing up, I had a parent who would say to me quite often, Greg, you make me sick! And I suppose that that was their attempt to manipulate me.

But even at a very young age, I thought, you control your own emotions. You decide how you feel. I don't decide how you feel. You decide how you feel. So we have to take ownership of our own attitude and our own emotions and not blame our spouse, our doctor, our minister, our boss, our co-workers. It's very important. Number four, remember that the Sabbath day is a memorial of creation. It's interesting of all of God's laws and all the commandments he could have reinforced in this journey to Mount Sinai. What's the one that he focused on? The sign of his people is the seventh day Sabbath. It identifies God as the one who created everything. It's a test to observe our level of obedience to him. In Exodus chapter 15 and verse 24 and many other places, God tested Israel to see whether they would obey him and keep his instructions, and that included the Sabbath day.

It's very important to God because it is that identifying sign between him and those special people that he has called out who want to obey him. Number five, guess what happens when our attitude stinks? Guess what happens when we fail? A test. You get to repeat it over again. You know, that same experience of the lack of drinking water that they were feeling in Exodus chapter 15 and verse 22 with Mara had to be repeated again at Rifidim in Exodus 17. If we fail the test, we're going to have to go through that test over again. I don't know about you, but I'm kind of getting tired of tests.

I think I want to get to the point where I start passing more and moving on.

When we are tested and our attitudes are shameful, we will indeed be tested over and over again in a similar way until we learn to approach problems from a faithful perspective, not a critical, not a contentious, not a condemning attitude, but a faithful, positive attitude. God is in charge of my life. Yes, this is unpleasant. This is a setback, but I'm going to leave it in God's hands because He's promised to never forsake me. Number six, the sixth lesson we can learn is the attack of Amalek against Israel with symbolic of the aggression, the accusations that you are going to receive when you begin to have a relationship with God. You become a target. And here's the key. Not only do we have to deal with our internal challenges, our negativity, our self-talk, what's going on in the inside, we also have to learn to deal with things that are happening on the outside, unexpected events that we weren't planning on. One day I walked into a doctor's office. I was 49 years old, felt like I had my whole life ahead of me, and he said, well, young man, you have chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Now, the only word I heard was leukemia. I didn't understand that fancy stuff before that word, but you know what I knew what that one meant. And in my mind, it meant checkout time. You're a dead man walking. That was an unexpected trial. That was an unexpected event in my life. And what God wants us to learn is to deal with those situations in faith that He is our God, that our lives are in His hands. After all, they've always been in His hands.

We've always been subject to His mercy. We don't need a difficult trial to realize that. Each day is a gift. The next breath you take is a gift. It's not earned. It's not deserved. It's merely a gift.

It's a gift from God. So being a Christian makes you different. And sometimes you literally become a target. That's the lesson from the attack of Amalek. And the final lesson, number seven, the lesson we should learn about Jethro correcting Moses is that we, too, should be humble enough to listen to advice. Not thinking we know it all, not thinking we're the smartest person in the room. We're smarter than everyone else. Oh, I know I've been there.

I've lived life a long time. You don't need to tell me anything. I'm running out of time. I'm smarter than everyone else. I know this happens to everyone else, but it won't happen to me.

His father-in-law gave him sound advice, and he was open-minded enough to listen and to change. How about us, brethren? Again, in Numbers chapter 12 and verse 3, it says, Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth. So my question is, could this scripture say the same thing about us, or are we living in denial? Well, I hope these lessons today can help us to better appreciate the fact that God gave something very special to his church on the day of Pentecost in 31 A.D. He gave his people, that's you and me, the gift of his Holy Spirit, and that can change everything. We don't have to live by these examples. We don't have to do this. We don't have to make these mistakes. We can tap into the very presence of the Father and the Son, the power of the Holy Spirit, and literally change on what we are and become those new creatures that God wants us to be. Tomorrow, we'll talk more about that on the day of Pentecost. Have a wonderful Sabbath, and I hope to see all of you at the picnic after services today. God bless you.