Jealous to be known

Our first reading is from Exodus 32 verses 1 to 14.

Exodus 32:1–14

So Aaron said to them, Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons and your daughters and bring them to me.

So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron.

And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf.

And they said, These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it.

And Aaron made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.

And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings.

And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.

And the Lord says to Moses, Go down, for your people whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves.

They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them.

They have made themselves a golden calf and have worshipped it and sacrificed to it and said,

These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

And the Lord said to Moses, I have seen this people and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.

Now therefore let me alone that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them in order that I may make a great nation of you.

But Moses implored the Lord, his God, and said, O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people?

Whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand.

Why should the Egyptians say, with evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth?

Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people.

Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self and said to them,

I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring and they shall inherit it forever.

And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.

The next reading is from Exodus 33 verses 15 to 23.

Exodus 33:15–23

And he said to them, if your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.

For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people?

Is it not in your going with us so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?

And the Lord said to Moses, this very thing that you have spoken I will do.

If you have found favor in my sight and I know by your name.

Moses said, please show me your glory.

And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim you my name, the Lord.

And I will be gracious to you, to whom I will be gracious.

And I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

But, he said, you cannot see my face.

For man shall not see me and live.

And the Lord said, behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock.

And while my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock.

And I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by.

Then I will take away my hand and you shall see my back.

But my face shall not be seen.

The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord.

The Lord passed before him and proclaimed,

The Lord, the Lord, our God merciful and gracious, slow to anger,

and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

keeping steadfast love for thousands,

forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,

but whom will by no means clear the guilty,

visiting the iniquity of the fathers and the children and the children's children,

the third and fourth generation.

And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshipped.

And he said,

If now I have found favour in your sight, O Lord,

please let the Lord go in the midst of us.

For it is a stiff-necked people,

and pardon our iniquity and our sin.

Good morning, everyone.

Will you please pray with me as we come to God's word?

Father, I pray that through your word,

you would convince each of our hearts to voluntarily come to you

and lay all the idols at your feet,

so that you might fill us with yourself.

So please speak to us now.

Give us minds and hearts ready to receive your word.

In Jesus' name I pray.

Amen.

Well, if a friend asked you to describe God's character,

I wonder what adjectives you would use.

I'm guessing loving would rightly come to mind.

Compassionate, holy, patient, wise.

No doubt you can think of lots more descriptions.

We can understand the appeal of these qualities, can't we?

Because when we see it in human beings,

just a faint reflection of it,

we can see the goodness of these qualities.

I think we could just imagine God on a greater scale.

He's all wise.

He's all wise.

He's all patient.

We are going to rush the ending of Exodus today.

But I was trying to think,

what's going to help us tie all this together?

And I think it's the description of God that we find here in Exodus,

that God is jealous.

How do you react to that?

God is jealous.

It feels unworthy to describe God that way, isn't it?

I wonder if you're a bit repulsed.

I'd be surprised if you're not,

because jealousy is pretty awful in human beings.

This is where God is so different from us.

Tim Keller describes jealousy as love-fighting,

extinction.

It's the fear of that love relationship being lost,

that love turns to anger to keep it.

Where a man's love for a woman,

when she's leaving him,

it's threatened,

and that love turns to anger,

even to the point of murder.

It's awful in human beings.

Or a friend.

Someone,

a friend you really love,

starts spending time with someone else,

and starts confiding in someone else,

and there's something in you that's like,

I don't want to share.

It's petty.

It's insecure.

Like, in people,

jealousy is

unattractive,

and

deadly.

So it's no wonder,

I think,

that we stumble over this description of God,

that God is jealous.

But,

it's in the middle of the Ten Commandments,

where God reveals

his character.

We can't say that his jealousy

is just this obscure part of Scripture,

some periphery description.

It's right there in the middle.

I, the Lord your God,

am a jealous God.

It's the reason for the first two commandments.

You shall have no other gods

beside me.

You shall make no images,

no created thing.

He's jealous that he has

all Israel's

devotion.

Let's not think

this is just an Old Testament description.

I don't know what you would describe this,

but jealous,

when Jesus says this in Luke 14.

If anyone comes to me,

and does not hate his own father,

and mother,

and wife,

and children,

and brothers,

and sisters,

yes,

even his own life,

he cannot be my disciple.

He wants all of us.

Compared to any other allegiance,

he's jealous to have

all of us.

I'm wondering,

if instead of being repulsed

by this description,

can we find the jealousy of God

beautiful?

I think we can.

Obviously,

I wouldn't be preaching on it

if I didn't.

It's beautiful in God,

awful in human beings,

but it's such good news in God.

I think we can start to see

if we reflect a bit

on what we've seen

in this series in Exodus.

What kind of relationship

does Yahweh want

with his saved people?

We've seen his goal

of redeeming his people

repeated,

to bring you to myself.

Get out of slavery

so that you can serve me.

That's his goal.

We've seen the kind of relationship

in the wilderness experience.

He's not some distant God.

He's present.

He's a companion.

He's leading them.

He's speaking to them.

We've seen the binding nature

of the relationship.

He wants covenant

with his people.

It's binding.

That's the kind of relationship.

We've seen the law.

The law is not a new slavery.

It's clear directions

of how Israel could please God.

Anyone know the movie

Princess Bride?

Okay.

All right.

Good.

You better.

That's your homework

if you don't.

But does anyone remember

Wesley's repeated expression

of love for Buttercup?

Thank you.

Yes.

We've got some true fans here.

As you wish.

That's his expression of love.

As you wish.

That's what we do, isn't it?

Someone we love.

Someone we esteem.

We work out what pleases them

and we give our will to them

to please them as you wish.

And it doesn't feel like

they're controlling us

because our pleasure

is in pleasing them.

That's what the law is.

Israel, here's how you can please me.

He hasn't left them guessing

how to relate.

The law is good.

That's the kind of relationship

he wants.

To know how they can please God.

And last week,

we've seen the kind of relationship

he wants in the tabernacle.

He wants to be present.

He wants to be close.

He wants to make a home

with his people.

He wants to be known.

He wants his people

to have access,

intimacy.

So when God says,

I am a jealous God,

I must be your priority.

I must be the centre

of your life.

I will not let you put anything,

anyone,

to be more important than me.

He's saying what every married person

expects and desires

from their spouse.

That's the kind of relationship

God wants with his people.

Exclusive.

Intimate.

Very little has been said

about sin so far in Exodus.

We're up to chapter 32.

Very little has been said

about sin.

But in chapter 32,

sin is mentioned 11 times.

I'm having three weeks off

over Christmas

and I'm not expecting

to come back

and you all kind of go,

we lost confidence

that you're coming back.

Here,

40 days.

40 days.

And Israel,

having heard God's voice,

they're still around Mount Sinai.

They haven't moved.

They still see the pillar of cloud

and the fire.

Within 40 days,

they come to Aaron

and say,

make us gods.

I can't believe Aaron

led them into,

this is Aaron.

Aaron was the spokesperson

to Pharaoh.

He was instrumental

in their freedom.

He ate and drank

in the covenant ceremony.

He ate and drank with God.

He's about to be high priest.

Aaron and all the people

so quickly

turned to idols.

I think it's to show us

the human condition.

So quick

to turn to idols.

And we see it played out

in the rest of Israel's history.

That's the human condition.

John Calvin

described a human heart

like this.

The human heart

is a perpetual

idol factory.

I think of it sometimes

like whack-a-mole.

I don't know if you know the game.

You probably don't.

It's a bit of a weird game.

Whack-a-mole.

Arcade.

When I was younger,

something,

an idol pops up,

you whack it,

another one,

another three pop up.

Our hearts are just

a perpetual

idol factory.

So what is an idol?

They take the gold jewelry.

There's nothing wrong

with the gold jewelry.

That was a gift

from their redeemer.

They take a good gift

and they created

with their own hands

an image

to make it

their top priority.

To make it

the meaning of their life.

The true source

of their joy.

These are your gods,

O Israel,

who brought you

out of the land

of Egypt.

It's a good gift

but it's

something made

by human beings

that replaces God

as top priority.

Redefining them even.

This is who we are now.

I doubt

it felt wrong

when they're doing it.

I reckon if we were there,

they're dancing

around this thing.

If you were to ask them,

they probably felt,

they would have said,

I feel at peace

with this decision.

It created

a sense of community.

It gave them

an identity.

This is our story now.

This is

who we are now.

It gave them meaning.

They could see it.

They could sense it.

I think it's the kind

of justifications

I give

to all sorts of things

when I make it

more important to God.

It gives me peace.

It gives me pleasure.

It doesn't feel wrong.

Others are doing it.

So why is it so wrong?

Why is idolatry

so wrong?

Why is it so wrong?

Why is it so wrong?

Why is it so wrong?

Why is it so wrong?

Why is it so wrong?

Why is it so wrong?

If you picture

a marriage ceremony,

it's a really profound

expression of love,

isn't it,

when the husband

and wife

look at each other

in the eyes

and say,

with all that I am

and all that I have,

I honour you.

Can you hear how

either we're playing

word games there

or we all know

that's love?

With all that I am

and all that I have,

I honour you.

Is that word games?

I don't think so.

That's love, isn't it?

It's exclusive.

It's everything.

It's exclusive.

It's exclusive.

And it's destructive

when something else

takes the priority

in a marriage.

Even at a human level,

think of what can unravel

a human marriage.

It's not always

really awful things.

It's not always adultery.

It's not always

domestic violence.

Sometimes it's good things

just taking priority.

Can't a wife feel

so alone

when the husband

is just obsessed

with the job

or obsessed

with his friends?

It can be a good thing

that

just gets

distance

in the relationship.

It can be a good thing.

Even children.

Where a husband

and later in life

go,

we've got nothing

to talk about.

The children

became everything.

Even good things

when they take priority

over the spouse

can unravel.

It violates

that expression

of love

with all that I am

and all that I have

I honour you.

And it's destructive.

And I think

that's a small taste

of the horror

of the golden calf.

God wants

an exclusive

all-consuming

relationship

and when

something else

comes in

and takes

central place

it's spiritual

adultery.

It's giving

to something else

what belongs

only to God.

And here we see

the problem

that idolatry

creates

because a jealous

God

who wants

all of us

idolatry

provokes

him to

anger

to wrath.

Chapter 32

verse 10

he says to

Moses

let me alone

that my wrath

may burn

hot against

them

and I may

consume

them

in order

that I may

make a great

nation of you.

He's ready

to

start again

with Moses.

Idolatry

provokes

a jealous

God

to wrath.

He's so

committed

to an

exclusive

love

relationship

he's angry

when we

turn away

from him.

Isn't that

the first

three chapters

of Romans?

The problem

is the

wrath

of God.

here in

Exodus

we see

God's

solution

but it's

only a

pattern.

Moses

is a

pattern

of what

Jesus

would

actually

accomplish.

How

is the

wrath

of God

removed?

Look at

verse 14

of chapter

32

and the

Lord

relented

from the

disaster

that he's

spoken

of bringing

on his

people.

That word

relented

is about

taking away

his anger.

He only

gives a

partial

judgment.

He doesn't

start again

with Moses

and what

averts

God's

wrath?

Did the

people make

it up

to God?

No.

What

averted

God's

wrath

was

Moses.

one

righteous

man

interceding

for the

people.

His

prayer

interceding

for his

people.

That's

what gets

rid of

the wrath

of God.

A

mediator

turning

away

God's

wrath.

I don't

know about

you but

I find

that really

humbling

because when

I look at

the reason

why God

has saved

me,

it has

nothing

to do

with

me.

It has

everything

to do

with one

righteous

man

interceding

for me,

interceding

for us.

But

Moses is

only a

pattern.

Moses

could only

wish that

he could

be blotted

out of

God's

book,

God's

record of

his people

so that

his people

were forgiven.

He could

only wish

he was

blotted

out.

He says

that

perhaps

I can

make

atonement

for your

sin.

He's

just a

pattern.

There's

a tension

left in

Exodus

that isn't

resolved

until Jesus

comes.

There's

no

perhaps

anymore.

Romans

3.25

Christ

Jesus

whom

God

put

forward

as a

propitiation

by his

blood

to be

received

by faith.

It's

not the

most

elegant

word

propitiation

I don't

think

but we

should

love

that

word.

It

means

turning

God's

wrath

away

from

us.

1

John

2

If

anyone

does

sin

we

have

an

advocate

with

the

father

Jesus

Christ

the

righteous

one

he

is

the

propitiation

for our

sins.

Or

1

John

4

is

the

definition

of

love.

This

is

love.

Not

that we

love

God

but

that

he

loved

us

and

sent

his

son

to

be

the

propitiation

for

our

sins.

Moses

could

only

wish

he could

delay

it

but

Jesus

actually

forever

takes

away

the

wrath

of

God

because

he

took

it.

He

drank

the

cup

of

the

wrath

of

God

to

its

dregs.

It's

gone.

We

see the

pattern

here of

Moses

taking

away

the

wrath

fulfilled

in

the

Lord

Jesus.

But we

also see

here

this

awful

episode

of

the

golden

calf

leads

to

a

really

profound

beautiful

moment.

One of

the

closest

encounters

between

God

and

a

human

being.

Moses

doesn't

seem

to see

God's

jealousy

as

dangerous.

He

seems

to lean

into

it.

He

wants

to get

closer.

He

wants

more.

What

he

prays

for

is

surprising

in

chapter

33.

The

Lord

says,

okay,

because of

what you've

done,

I will

still

drive out

the

Canaanites.

I

will

give

you

the

land

flowing

with

milk

and

honey,

but I'm

not

going

to

go

with

you.

My

presence

won't

go

with

you.

I

think

that's

most

people's

dream

religion.

I'm

going to

give

you

power

over

your

opponents.

I'm

going to

give

you

prosperity,

milk

and

honey,

the

land.

I'm

going to

give

you

comfort.

Moses

is

mourning.

No,

don't

send us.

That's

not

life.

That's

not

glory.

If

your

presence

doesn't

come with

us,

don't

send

us.

Moses

understands

what

satisfies

the human

soul.

as

Bo

opened

this

morning.

Moses

understood

that it's

not

treating

God as

useful to

get

something

else.

We

need

your

presence.

If a

man

called

off an

engagement

with a

woman when

he found

out that

she

all

her

riches

were

gone

and

she's

in

debt

and

he's

like,

oh,

well,

let's

just call

it off

then.

How

would

she

feel?

Gutted,

right?

He just

loved me

for my

money.

Isn't

that how

we treat

God?

When

things

aren't

going

well,

God

isn't

useful

to some

other

end.

Moses

understands

that God's

presence

satisfies

the human

soul.

Otherwise,

his prayer,

I don't

know,

it doesn't

make sense

otherwise.

Moses

is treating

God as

beautiful for

his own

sake.

That's

why he

prays,

show me

your

glory.

He

wants to

see more

of this

God.

God.

When we

find something

beautiful,

most people

find,

I think

all people

find the

ocean,

right?

You look

at the

ocean,

this vast

beautiful

sight,

or we

go to the

blue

mountains and

look at

those

Kenyans.

You're not

thinking,

what can I

get out of

this?

You're just

staring at it

because it's

just so

beautiful for

its own

sake.

But when you

find something

beautiful,

it's not just

pleasure in it

for its own

sake, but it

also just

somehow pushes

you out of

yourself.

It fills

life with

meaning,

doesn't it?

It's pleasurable

for its own

sake.

It's not just

useful, and

it just

makes life

meaningful.

That's what

beautiful things

do.

And I think

that's what

Moses is

praying for

here.

He

understands

that God

himself is

what satisfies

the human

soul, as

beautiful, not

just useful.

He's experienced

it.

Every time he

talked to God

face to face,

he was glowing.

It talks

about his

face was

beaming

light.

He's

experienced

it.

He

understands

that God's

jealousy to

be exclusively

loved and

enjoyed for

his own

sake is not

a bad

thing.

That fills

the human

soul.

nothing else

can satisfy

what we

were made

for than

to have

the blazing

glory of

the universe

look at

you and

go, I

want you,

I invite

you in,

look at

me and

enjoy me.

God's

jealousy to

be exclusively

loved is

his

commitment

to satisfy

our souls

with

himself.

the glory

Moses saw

was only

a taste

of what

you and

I get

to see

today.

What did

Moses see?

He saw

words.

I know

that kind of

doesn't

make sense

but when

the Lord

had all

his goodness

pass in

front of

him,

what we're

told is,

whatever that

experience was,

what we're

told repeatedly

is the

Lord

proclaimed

the name

of the

Lord.

He

proclaimed.

We have

access to

his glory

in his

word.

The

Lord,

the

Lord,

a God

merciful and

gracious,

slow to

anger,

and

abounding

in

steadfast

love and

faithfulness,

keeping

steadfast

love to

thousands,

and

forgiving

iniquity

and

transgression

and sin,

but who

will by

no means

clear the

guilty.

What

Moses saw

is that

God is

all

forgiving.

That

gives us

confidence

to come

to him.

All

three words

for sin

are mentioned.

transgression,

iniquity,

and sin.

I hope

that gives

you confidence

that there

is no

sin that

he can't

forgive.

He's

trying to

say it as

clearly as

he can to

assure us

he's abounding

in forgiveness.

He's the

self-sufficient

flame.

I'll be

gracious to

whom I'll

be gracious.

He's

abounding.

There's

no limit.

All

sin,

it gives

us confidence

to come

to him,

to draw

near.

But

I'm sure

you notice

the tension

here.

He won't

clear the

guilty.

What

Moses saw

is this

tension,

all his

goodness.

He's

all

forgiving,

but he

can't

just be

a

president,

give a

presidential

pardon

that

removes

all the

guilt and

no

consequences.

He can't

do that.

He's

got to

be just.

There's a

tension here

that isn't

resolved.

Again,

until we

get to

the Lord

Jesus

Christ.

He only

saw his

back,

Moses.

It was a

faint outline.

We get to

look at his

face.

when we

look at

the cross.

There we

see at

the cross

all God's

jealousy.

All that

wrath that

poured out

on his

son.

And when

we look at

the cross,

we see the

lengths he

would go to

to possess

us, to

have our

heart.

That's a

gracious God

who would

go to

that length

to put up

with my

idols so

that he

could satisfy

my soul

with himself,

that he

would even

send his

son to

the cross.

he's that

committed to

be present.

He's that

committed to

possess all

of our

hearts.

And so I

think it

just calls

us to

not be,

not cling

to our

idols.

idols.

The cross

attracts us

that we

can bring

our idols

to him

and not

be afraid

that he

will reject

us.

All his

wrath has

already been

taken away

in his

son.

It

attracts us

because

whatever idol

you're clinging

to,

whatever is

more important

to you than

God,

it will

fade.

it can't

last.

It

destroys

intimacy

with God,

it destroys

marriages,

it destroys

churches,

it destroys

relationships.

Don't hang

on to that.

Come to

the cross

and be

satisfied

in him.

Jealousy

of God

is not

repulsive.

It's

beautiful

because he

wants us

to be

satisfied

in him.

And he

sent his

son to

achieve

that.

Will you

pray with

me?

Let's

pray.

Father,

we're not

as sorry

as we

should be

for

clinging

on to

created

things and

making them

the centre

of our

life

as we

ought to.

Lord,

I pray

that you

would

loosen

our

attraction

to

whatever

that

important

thing

is

by the

cross

of your

son,

that you

would

convince

our

hearts

that what

we're

looking for

in

created

things

is

actually

found

in you.

Lord,

only you

can move

our hearts

to that.

I pray

for each

one of

us and

I pray

as a

church

that you

would

continually

break down

idols so

that we

can have

you as

our

lasting

treasure.

Lord,

thank you

for the

hope that

we will

see you

one day

face to

face.

face.

I pray

that that

hope will

help us

get ready

for that

day.

I pray

this in

Jesus'

name.

Amen.

Amen.