God Goes Before Us

Good morning, church.

Would you turn with me to the book of Exodus, chapter 23.

Exodus 23 · chapter mention

That's page 64 in the Pew Bible.

We're going to look at verses 20 through 33.

Exodus 23, page 64.

So it's high school graduation season.

Congrats, high school seniors.

You know who you are.

Graduation is a bit of a climactic experience, isn't it?

You've come through to the other side of, in this case, high school.

In victory, you're done.

And there's no going back.

Praise the Lord.

It feels like you're on top of the world.

It's a good feeling.

But then, as the excitement dies down,

you realize that there's still a long road ahead.

College, work, dating, family, career,

it all still looms out there,

scary and big,

and at times, overwhelming.

Of course, that's not just for the high school graduates among us, right?

That feeling hits us at a lot of moments in life.

Retirement,

birth of a child,

taking a new job,

moving to a new city.

Well, in our text today,

we meet the people of Israel

at the foot of Mount Sinai.

And they, too,

have come through a similarly climactic experience.

God has rescued them from slavery in Egypt.

He's brought them through the Red Sea.

He's now spoken to them at Sinai.

They are on the top of the world.

But there's still a long road ahead.

After all,

they're still in the wilderness.

And they're not home yet.

Now, at the end of Exodus 23,

our text today,

God concludes the formal covenant at Sinai.

That is,

here are the final terms of God's binding relationship,

His covenant with His people.

So, let's hear what God has to say to His people

as they look out at the long road ahead.

Exodus 23, starting in verse 20.

Behold,

I send an angel before you

to guard you on the way

and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.

Pay careful attention to him

and obey his voice.

Do not rebel against him,

for he will not pardon your transgression,

for my name is in him.

But if you carefully obey his voice

and do all that I say,

then I will be an enemy to your enemies

and an adversary to your adversaries.

When my angel goes before you

and brings you to the Amorites

and the Hittites

and the Perizzites

and the Canaanites,

the Hivites

and the Jebusites

and I blot them out,

you shall not bow down to their gods

nor serve them

nor do as they do,

but you shall utterly overthrow them

and break their pillars in pieces.

You shall serve the Lord your God

and He will bless your bread and your water

and I will take sickness away from you.

None shall miscarry or be barren in your land.

I will fulfill the number of your days.

I will send my terror before you

and will throw into confusion

all the people against whom you shall come

and I will make all your enemies

turn their backs to you

and I will send hornets before you

which shall drive out the Hivites,

the Canaanites and the Hittites

from before you.

I will not drive them out

from before you in one year

lest the land become desolate

and the wild beasts multiply against you.

Little by little

I will drive them out from before you

until you have increased

and possess the land

and I will set your border

from the Red Sea

to the Sea of the Philistines

and from the wilderness

to the Euphrates

for I will give the inhabitants

of the land into your hand

and you shall drive them out before you.

You shall make no covenant

with them and their gods.

They shall not dwell in your land

lest they make you sin against me

for if you serve their gods

it will surely be a snare to you.

Let's pray together.

Heavenly Father,

we ask that you would grant us

the grace of your Holy Spirit

this morning

to understand

and to hear

what you are saying to us

through this word this morning.

Lord, we want to understand this text

in light of

the big picture

of what you've done for us in Christ.

So help us to do that

and help us not to be

callous

or feel fearful

or hard-hearted

as we come to you this morning

but would you

open up our minds

and our ears

and our hearts

to be receptive

to what you're saying

to each of us this morning.

Thank you for speaking to us, God.

We ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well,

the sum

of the passage

that we just read

is that God

is going to send an angel

before his people Israel

to settle them safely

in the land of Canaan.

And with this promise

comes a warning.

And the warning is

don't worship

their false gods.

Serve me.

Serve the Lord God alone.

Now,

the conquest

of Canaan

as it's sometimes called

which eventually happens

in the book of Joshua

we have to keep in mind

that that is a unique

event

in redemptive history

in the Bible.

All Jewish

and Christian commentators

agree

that the conquest

was a one-time

command

not meant to be repeated

in other times

or places.

And that means

we have to be careful

as we come to this text today

not to draw

the wrong conclusions

from a passage like this

as we think about

what it's saying to us.

After all,

we live in a different time

in a different place

in a different moment

in redemptive history.

With all that being said,

however,

that doesn't mean

that there aren't

some important lessons here

to be learned

for us.

And as a window

into that,

think about

where Israel is at

in the story

of salvation.

put yourself back

in their shoes

imaginatively.

Where are they?

The Israelites

are somewhere

between Egypt

and Canaan.

Right?

In other words,

they've been redeemed

but they're not yet home.

They've been baptized

through the Red Sea

but they've not yet

come to rest

in the promised land.

There are still,

as God tells them here,

many battles to come

and many trials to face.

Now,

spiritually speaking,

is not that true

of us,

the church,

today?

Christians, too,

have been redeemed.

We've been redeemed

through Christ's death

and resurrection.

The church has been baptized

through Christ's death

and resurrection.

But,

brothers and sisters,

we are not yet home.

We are not yet glorified

in the rest

God has in store for us.

There are still

many spiritual battles

to come

and many trials to face.

So,

what do we learn here then

for this road ahead?

Well,

the first resounding

message that we hear here

is that God

goes before us,

His people.

Notice that in verse 20

and verse 23,

God tells Israel twice

that His angel

will go before you.

Now,

briefly,

what are we to make

of this angel figure?

We've actually encountered

this angel a couple of times

so far in the book of Exodus.

We haven't spent a lot of time

thinking or talking

about this figure.

Back in chapter 3,

the angel showed up

at the call of Moses

in the burning bush.

And in chapter 14,

when Israel was crossing

the Red Sea,

this angel of the Lord

also shows up

protecting them

from the attacking

Egyptian armies.

Now,

here we're told

that this angel

once again

will guard them

and bring them

into the promised land.

Now,

angels in the Bible

are spiritual beings

who serve God's purposes

of redemption.

If you're a bit skeptical

about this whole

angel business,

on the one hand,

maybe you'll be comforted

to know that the Bible's

idea of angels

couldn't be further

from the popular imagination.

You know,

when you come to the Bible

and you hear

what angels are doing,

you know,

there's no fluffy wings.

There's no fat,

chubby little cherubs

with bows and arrows.

You know,

there's no Victorian women

in long flowing gowns

looking like they might

bring you some more milk

to put you to bed.

You know,

it's not Michael Landon

or that other lady

from Touched by an Angel,

you know,

who looks like they might

just be a really nice counselor,

someone you'd want

to knit a sweater with

and share a cup of tea.

Um,

no,

actually,

that's not the biblical

picture of angels at all.

Um,

angels are actually

beings of magnificent power

and beauty and glory.

Um,

and most people

end up falling down

and mistakenly

worshiping them

in the Bible.

Now,

what's more,

if what the Bible

says about angels

is true,

if you're wrestling

with that,

but think about it,

if what the Bible

says about angels

is true,

consider what that means

about God's love

for us.

Um,

and here's what I mean.

If there is a God,

and if that God

has created

not just a seen,

but also an unseen world

with creatures

full of His beauty

and power and joy

and an overflow

of His,

of His creative expression,

uh,

consider

that this God,

according to the Bible,

is willing

to marshal

even those highest,

most glorious,

heavenly beings

to carry out

His saving plan

for you.

In other words,

God doesn't withhold

any part of His creation,

seen or unseen,

from working for the good

for those He longs to save.

Isn't that an incredible message?

After all,

is it so hard to believe

that the God

who created

all the beauty

that we see

might also have

even more in store,

that there might be

an unseen transcendent realm

where this God

also displays

His beauty

and power

and majesty?

And is it not a wonder

to believe

that God in love

commands even

that transcendent part

of His creation

to minister to those

who are to inherit salvation?

Little folks like you and me.

Well, back to Exodus 23.

Clearly,

this particular angel

has a special role

to play in the story, right?

Notice how closely

he's identified

with God's presence

and activity.

God tells Israel

to obey His voice

in verse 21.

And then in verse 22,

look at that verse with me.

What the angel says

and what God says

are almost interchangeable.

God says,

carefully obey His voice

and do all I say.

That's a very interesting

switch of pronouns.

And this angel seems

not just to convey

God's own voice,

but in verse 22,

this angel seems

to have God's own authority

to pardon

or not pardon transgression.

And then to top it all off,

God says,

my name is in Him.

That is God's revealed

character and glory

is somehow,

someway in this angel,

whatever that means.

In other words,

a closer identification

with God

couldn't be imagined.

is it any wonder

that many have looked back

at these Old Testament passages

about the angel of the Lord?

They've looked back

from the perspective

of the New Testament

and thought that

perhaps we are dealing

here with a pre-incarnate

appearance of Christ Himself,

God the Son,

the second person

of the Trinity.

Who else could be,

on the one hand,

distinguished from God?

Yes, it's different.

And yet at the same time,

so closely identified

with God.

But whether the angel

is actually

the pre-incarnate Christ

or not,

surely what we see

about this angel

in Exodus 23

ultimately finds

its fulfillment

in Christ the Lord.

God says,

my angel is going

to be with you

and go before you.

And the risen Lord Jesus

says to His disciples,

all authority on heaven

and earth belongs to me,

has been given to me,

and I'm with you always,

even to the end of the age.

If God was somehow

present with His people

through this angel,

how much more present

is God with us

in His own Son,

the risen Lord Jesus?

What good news that is,

that God is going

to be with us

in this personal,

present way.

And not just with us.

Notice what God says.

God says,

I'm not just going

to be with you,

but I'm going

to go before you.

And hasn't the Lord Jesus

truly gone before us?

He's gone before us

into the depths

of our human condition

when He took on flesh,

did He not?

And He went before us

in His temptation

in the wilderness

to know what it's like

to face trial

and temptation

and spiritual attack.

And He went before us

in His earthly life

as He ministered

and loved God

and loved others

and as He faced rejection

and as He faced challenge

and as He faced persecution.

And Jesus went before us

when He was arrested

and when He was crucified.

Jesus went before us

even into the grave.

And Christ went before us

into the new life

of resurrection.

and He went before us

into the heavenly places

when He ascended on high.

And we know that He will

go before us one day

when He returns

to make all things new.

Friends,

what good news

that Jesus is not just with us.

God is not just with us

in His Son

by His Spirit,

but God is always before us.

Blazing the trail ahead.

Clearing the way for us.

Our buffer and our shield.

Ultimately taking our sin,

giving us His righteousness,

filling us with His Spirit.

Now for the Israelites,

God's angel going before them

meant that God would ultimately

drive out all their enemies

and bring them safely home

to the promised land.

The victory against these warring tribes

that they would face

was assured.

The battle,

God said,

I would win it for you.

God will terrify their enemies.

He will throw them into confusion.

He will make them

turn their backs and run.

Again and again,

God says,

I will drive them out.

I will make sure

that you make it safely

all the way home.

And friends,

isn't that the nature,

the real nature

of the biblical message?

That God does something for us

that we can't do.

Our enemies are too strong

and our guilt

is too great

for us

to save ourselves.

We can't make things right

with God.

We can't bring ourselves

into the rest

God has for us

all on our own.

In fact,

it has to be

God's grace.

It has to be

God's action

on our behalf.

That's the only thing

that can assure us

of final

and complete salvation.

And that's meant

to give us hope

and encouragement

as we look at the long

spiritual road ahead.

You know,

maybe you sit here

and you look ahead

and you see

some of the challenges ahead.

Most of us

can't see

what challenges

are ahead.

And maybe

as you look ahead

you wonder,

man,

am I going to make it?

But we don't go alone.

God is before us.

Every battle,

every trial,

He is there

to guard us

and to bring us in.

But this promise

also comes

with a clarification

here in this text.

Yes,

God promises

to go before His people.

But the second thing

we learn from this passage

is that the battles

are actually going

to be won

little by little.

Look again

at verses 29 and 30.

They tell us

that when Israel

enters the land,

God won't drive out

the people all at once.

It's going to be gradual.

Why?

Otherwise,

if all the people

just sort of disappeared,

the uninhabited land

would become

too much

for them to handle.

They weren't strong enough.

They weren't numerous enough

to be able

to manage

that much.

I think there's

a really,

really important

analogy here

to the Christian life.

How many of us

have been frustrated

by a besetting sin

and wondered why

God doesn't just

take it away?

But you know,

that is rarely

how God works

in the Christian life.

The process

of sanctification,

of growing

in godliness

and Christ-like

character

is gradual.

It's progressive.

It happens

little

by little.

God knew

that if he drove

out all the people

from Canaan

at once,

the land

would overwhelm

the Israelites.

You see,

God's wisdom

was so much

deeper than theirs.

Perhaps God

has his reasons

for not removing

all of your

besetting sins

all at once,

of making sure

that it's a process

of little

by little

growth.

You see,

there's a bigger

story

that you're a part of,

and God

is doing

a much

bigger

work

in your life

than you can imagine.

It's deeper

and it's longer

and it has

a much

greater end

than most of us

can conceive.

At the very least,

the Lord is teaching

you to depend

on him

each day,

to take up

the means

of grace

like prayer

and worship

and the Lord's

supper

and the filling

of your mind

with scripture

through reading

and meditation,

to take up

these means

of Christ

and to fight

the good fight

of the faith.

He's teaching

you to press

on in obedience

and trust,

to not be passive

in our spiritual

growth,

but active,

to keep in step

with the spirit,

to keep taking

off the old self

and putting on

the new self,

as Paul said

in Ephesians.

I sometimes think

what sort of person

I would be

had God simply

taken away

some of my

particular habitual

sins all at once.

And trust me,

there are still

many left in my life

that God has taken

care of.

I don't stand

before you

a completely

sanctified individual

this morning,

but,

you know,

I think had God

just given me

sort of instant

victory

over some of

these things,

I imagine

that I would

probably be

very proud.

Don't you think?

I wouldn't know

what it's like

to depend

on the Lord

each day.

I would be

probably a lot

more ingrained

in my natural

self-reliance.

I wouldn't know

what it's like

to call out

to Him

in prayer,

to wait on the Lord,

to look to Him

for daily grace.

And I certainly

wouldn't know

half so well

how to minister

to others

who struggle.

I would probably

be much more

impatient

and condescending.

So, friends,

God in His wisdom

gives us the victory

little by little

so that the fields

and the terrain

of our uncultivated

hearts don't come

back to overwhelm us.

I think there's

a special word here

to the discouraged

among us this morning.

Brothers and sisters,

don't be downhearted

by the little

by little nature

of the Christian life.

Don't be discouraged

that it's a process

of growth.

And if you feel

like you can't even

see the little

by little,

if it feels like

you're not growing

at all,

then I would

encourage you

to get with

an older,

more mature

Christian

who knows you

well

and ask them

what they see

in your life.

Often,

we aren't the best

judge of our

own spiritual state.

Often,

others can see

the little

by little growth

much better

than we can.

So, friends,

don't be discouraged

that the Christian life

is a process.

Expect it.

Look at what

God is teaching

you through

that little

by little

process of growth.

And perhaps

there's also

a word here

to the spiritually

complacent.

Friends,

are you in

the fight?

Notice at the

end of verse 31,

after God says,

I will drive them

out,

I will drive them

out numerous times,

then God says,

I will give the

inhabitants into

your hand

and you shall

drive them out

before you.

Yes,

the victory

ultimately belongs

to the Lord,

Lord,

but you do

have a responsibility,

a role to play

in your growth

and holiness.

So,

ask yourself

this morning,

am I concerned

at all

to engage

in this little

by little

growth?

Or have I

become complacent?

Friends,

do you care

at all

for the growth

of your fellow

church members?

believers?

Are you praying

and encouraging

them in this

battle to become

more like Christ?

Here,

the call of this

passage is to

get in the game,

to fight the good

fight,

to wake up

from your sleep.

And this leads us

to the third

and last lesson

of our passage,

the main exhortation

that God gives

to the Israelites

as they're poised

to enter

the promised land

is that they

must have

nothing to do

with the false

gods of the

people around

them.

In very stark

language,

God says,

when you encounter

their idolatrous

practices,

here's what I

want you to do.

I want you to

completely overthrow

them and smash

all their pillars

into pieces

and have nothing

to do with

their false

worship.

Verse 32

says,

don't make

any covenants

with any of

their gods.

Don't compromise

with them

in any way.

Otherwise,

he says,

it will be

a snare

to you.

Now,

that's an

interesting

little word

picture,

isn't it?

A snare.

Most of us

live in the

city or in the

suburbs,

so we don't

really go

hunting a lot.

Some of you

like to go

hunting.

I doubt

many of you

hunt with a

snare,

which is like

a small little

trap.

For a small

little animal.

And doesn't a

snare sort of

seem like a

harmless little

thing, right?

Something you

can kind of

easily avoid,

easily handle,

you just step

over it,

you watch out

for it,

until you get

caught,

until you get

stuck.

Idolatry and

sin are like

that, God

says.

You think you

can handle it.

You tell yourself

that you have

it under

control.

So what if I

indulge in a

little compromise

here or there?

It's no big

deal.

I'm not really

harming anyone.

And then,

it catches you.

It traps you.

That lustful look

here and there

becomes a

consuming

addiction.

indulging in

self-pity

every once in

a while

becomes a

deep-seated

bitterness

against God

and others.

Bending the

truth from

time to time

at work

becomes a

growing

cover-up

that spirals

out of

control.

That

hunger

for

whatever it

might be,

comfort or

approval

starts to

dominate all

of your

relationships,

your own

view of

yourself and

others in

the world.

What this

passage teaches

us is that

if you see

the sin in

your life,

if you see

the idols in

your own

heart,

those things

that are

taking the

place of

God in

your life,

the ultimate

drivers of

your motivation

and your

identity,

those good

things that

have become

ultimate

things,

if you see

those things

in your

heart,

the Lord

is telling

His people

here,

don't

compromise.

Be

unrelenting

in your

approach to

get rid

of them.

Back in the

fall, we

walked very

slowly through

Romans chapter

Romans 8 · chapter mention

8, which is

a chapter of

much beauty

and power

and glory

and hope,

and in

the middle

of that

chapter,

Paul says,

here's what

you should

do with

your sinful

nature.

Kill it.

Put it to

death.

You know,

no one ever

finds a spot

of skin

cancer and

says,

no,

melanoma.

It's no big

deal.

I can handle

that.

You know,

I've got a lot

of freckles.

It's genetic.

I don't

tan.

I freckle,

and then I

burn.

No big deal.

I can handle

this.

No one says

that.

Why?

Because that

thing is going

to spread

before you

know it

to other

parts of

your body

and it's

going to

kill you.

Friends,

it's the

same with

the idols

of our

hearts.

Whether they

come from

within or

whether they

seep in

from the

outside,

they are

a snare

ready to

trap

and destroy

us.

And here's

the stark

thing about

this passage.

God says

if we

persist

in harboring

sin

and in

refusing to

heed God's

voice,

if we go

on in

unrepentant

idolatry,

thinking that

we can have

God's favor

and blatantly

disobey God

at the same

time,

then what

God says

earlier in

verse 21

will be

true of

us.

He will

not pardon

your

transgressions.

That's a

stark

verse.

But it's

a very

real warning.

If we

go on

refusing

to heed

God's

voice,

if we

persist

in

unrepentant

sin,

if we

never

humble

ourselves

before

Christ

as our

Savior

and as

our

much

needed

Lord,

if we

never

come to

God

and say,

I will

be done,

Lord,

then God

will turn

to us

and say,

I will

be done.

Go.

God

will not

pardon

our

transgressions.

However,

God

will

God

will

turn

from

self-reliance

and

self-direction

and idolatry

and sin

and turn

to Christ.

God

is rich

and abundant

in mercy.

God

does not

expect us

to be

sinless

in this

life.

That is

not what

God

requires.

God

doesn't

want

perfect

people

because

newsflash,

they don't

exist.

God

wants

humble

people

who

know

they

need

a

Savior

and

who

surrender

their

lives

to

him

in

willing

trust.

And

when

we

come

to

him

with

that

posture,

the

mercy

of

God

overflows

beyond

what we

could ask

or think.

In

verses

25 and

26,

listen

to how

God

woos

Israel

away from

the

worship

of

idols

to

serve

him

alone.

Look at

those

verses

again.

He

says,

you

shall

serve

the

Lord

your

God

and

he

will

bless

your

bread

and

your

water

and

I

will

take

sicknesses

away

from

you.

None

shall

miscarry

or be

barren

in

your

land.

I

will

fulfill

the

number

of

your

days.

It's

a

picture

of

total

flourishing.

Friends,

what

are you

looking

for

in

those

idols

of

your

heart

or

in

those

sins

that

you

harbor?

When

you're

driven

by a

need

for

success,

for

example,

what

is

you're

really

longing

for?

Acclaim,

affirmation,

a sense

of identity

and purpose,

a feeling

of worth?

What do

you seek?

When

God

says to

Old

Testament

Israel

that he's

going to

bless

him in

all

these

ways,

he's

trying to

teach

us

something.

He's

trying to

show

us

that

in

him

we

find

real

life

and

in

him

alone.

The

Old

Testament

promises

of

physical

or

material

blessing

for

serving

the

Lord

were

pointers

to

something

even

greater.

God

no

longer

promises

us

long

life

and

material

prosperity.

What

does

God

promise

us?

Resurrection

life.

eternal

life as

heirs

of a

new

creation.

You

know,

the

Old

Testament

Israelites

never

did

drive

out

the

Canaanites

completely.

They

persisted

in being

a snare

to them.

And they

never

did get

free

from the

false

gods

and the

idolatry

around

them.

But

then

Christ

lost.

Their

king,

our

king

came.

And he

went ahead

of us

and won

an even

greater

victory

and pioneered

away into

an even

better land.

And he's

defeated all

of our

enemies to

bring us

there.

Through

his own

blood,

Christ has

defeated

our sin

and death

and he

commands

everyone

everywhere

to turn

to him

and be

saved.

And he

promises

to go

before us

and to

bring us

all the

way home.

So

brothers and

sisters,

as we

look at

the road

ahead

and all

the

daunting

trials

that may

be in

store,

listen

to what

the book

of Hebrews

says.

It says,

lay aside

every weight

and the

sin which

clings so

closely

and let

us run

with endurance

the race

that is set

before us,

looking to

Jesus,

the pioneer

and perfecter

of our

faith,

the one

who goes

before us,

who for

the joy

that was

set before

him endured

the cross,

despising

the shame

and is

seated at

the right

hand of

the throne

of God,

reigning

in glory,

coming one

day to

bring all

things into

fullness and

to bring us

home safely.

Let's

pray.

Father,

perhaps as

we've

sat under

this passage

this morning,

we realize

that there

are some

areas of

our lives

where we

have been

too

compromising

with the

idols of

our world

around us

or the

secret sins

of our

own hearts.

Father,

we bring

those sins

before you

now in

the quiet

of our

hearts and

we ask

for your

forgiveness.

God,

help us

to see

that in

you and

in you

alone belongs

a real

blessing and

purpose and

joy.

God,

for many of

my brothers

and sisters

here this

morning who

are fearful

of the road

ahead or

who may be

discouraged,

encouraged by

their growth

and holiness

feeling that

they've just

not seen the

victory or the

conquest or the

growth that they

would like to

see.

Oh,

Lord,

by your

spirit would

you encourage

them this

morning.

Help them to

see that all

is not lost,

that even if

they've stumbled

for the

19th,

for the

20th,

for the

21st,

for the

100th time,

God,

you never

turn away

the broken

hearted and

the contrite.

God,

you are near

to us and

you promise

to carry us

through,

to go before

us.

Lord,

help us to

remember that

this week,

that you are

indeed before

us in all of

this earthly

pilgrimage.

We pray this

in Jesus' name.

Amen.