Pay Attention to My Voice

Good morning. It's good to see you guys. Good to worship with you. Please turn your Bibles to Exodus chapter 23.

Exodus 23 · chapter mention

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Sean. I'm one of the pastors of Trinity Cambridge Church, and it is my joy and honor to preach God's word to you.

This morning, we've been going through a series in the book of Exodus.

If you don't have a Bible, if you raise your hand, we'll be happy to bring one over to you that you can use while you're here.

Exodus chapter 23. We'll be looking at verses 20 to 33.

Exodus 23 · chapter mention

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

Father, we love your word.

Because in your word, we hear your voice.

Because in your word, we meet Jesus, our Savior.

Because in your word, we are sharpened and equipped, complete for every good work.

And so we pay attention to your word again this morning.

Address us as you always do.

Glorify your name.

Exalt your son, Jesus.

Bring sinners who are dead in their trespasses to life through the proclamation of your word.

And fill us with an awareness, an intense awareness of your care and your love toward us,

as revealed in this passage.

In Jesus' name we ask.

Amen.

If you are able, please stand for the reading of God's word from Exodus 23, 20 to 33.

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 among 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 possessed 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.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

Please be seated.

Many of you are familiar with the announcement that the flight attendant makes

after everyone has boarded a plane.

Say, please direct your attention to the flight attendant in the cabin

when we review important safety information.

If you're like me, I rarely see anyone paying attention to the flight attendant.

Some people are looking out the window.

Some people are sleeping already.

Some people are, many, most of them, looking at their phones.

That may or may not be in airplane mode.

And some people are listening to music.

They're reading books.

Very few people are actually looking at the flight attendant.

Sometimes I've wondered what it would feel like to be the flight attendant.

Telling passengers important safety information and nobody's paying attention.

You know, why am I even doing this?

And there are several reasons why people don't pay attention.

One reason is that it's familiar.

You've heard it before.

Second reason is that people don't expect any mishap to happen on the flight.

So they dismiss the safety instructions as a mere formality.

Something that they have to do for legal reasons.

I just spoke with a friend this past week who told me that when he was younger,

he was on a plane, and as the plane was flying, one of the engines blew out.

And they could see out the window one of the engines on fire.

And the pilot had to make an emergency landing.

And panic obviously gripped the entire plane.

And I can assure you that not a few people on that plane in that very moment regretted

not paying any attention to the flight attendant's safety instructions.

The word of God is familiar to many of us.

And frankly, there are some people out there who don't think that obedience to God's word

makes much of a difference.

So they gloss over it when they read the Bible, or don't read it at all,

or hardly pay any attention.

But what if we really believe that the obedience to the word,

to God's word, is a matter of life and death?

Something that determines our eternal destiny.

Would we pay attention then?

We should pay attention to the voice of the Lord

as he leads us attentively into the promised land.

That's the main point of this passage.

We're going to first look at the precept, what God commands,

and then the promise, what God assures us will happen,

and then the pardon.

I mentioned to you last week that verse 13 is the crux,

the center point of the preceding passage.

It said,

The main function of all the laws that we have seen in the book of Exodus

is to keep the covenant relationship between God and his people intact,

to help the Israelites be faithful,

and to keep their allegiance to Yahweh.

And the main exhortation to pay attention from that preceding passage

is repeated again and again in this passage.

God promises to send an angel,

which in Hebrew simply means messenger,

to before the Israelites, to go before them into the promised land.

And then he says in verse 21,

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.

I will circle back to the idea of pardoning transgression later on.

But verse 22 repeats that main command to pay attention.

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.

The word obey is a translation of the Hebrew word

that means to listen.

Just as in English, the word listen can have the nuance

of hearing something as well as obeying something,

listen to me, for example, when parents say to their kids.

These two verses are emphasizing listening,

paying attention to the voice of the Lord,

the word of the Lord.

And there's a reciprocal relationship

between God's guarding of Israel,

which we saw in verse 21,

and Israel's paying attention to him.

So it says, in verse 20,

it says that the Lord guards them into the promised land.

That's the same word that's translated in verse 21

as pay attention.

As God sends his angel to guard them on the way,

we are to guard the word of God in our hearts

because, as Psalm 119 says,

we keep our way pure by guarding it

according to his word.

If we want to be guarded on the way to the promised land,

then we must guard the way of the Lord

and not stray from it.

That's because God's word keeps us and guards us.

If you keep to the path, in other words,

the path will keep you.

But if you stray from the path,

you stray into harm's way.

This is more than a quid pro quo.

God is not saying,

you do me a favor and I will do you a favor.

God doesn't need any favors from his people.

God is saying,

listen to my voice and obey my word

because my word alone leads you to salvation.

This word is what keeps you and saves you.

Do you guard the word of God

like a precious treasure in your life?

Do you pay attention to the word of God

like your life depends on it?

God drives this point home still further

in verses 23 to 25.

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.

There are three specific prohibitions here.

After God drives out the nations

and brings Israel into the possession

of the promised land,

they shall not,

one, bow down to the foreign gods

and two,

they shall not serve them

and three,

they shall not do as they do,

meaning they are not to follow the customs

of the people who worship these idols.

Instead,

they must serve Yahweh,

the Lord their God.

And a severe warning is attached to this

at the end of this passage

in verses 32 to 33.

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.

Compromise leads to apostasy.

If the idol worshipers

are allowed to remain in the land,

they will lead God's people into sin

and into idolatry.

If they make a covenant

with the false gods of the Canaanites,

they are breaking their covenant with Yahweh.

We know from the later books

in the Old Testament

that the Israelites, in fact,

do not keep this warning,

heed this warning.

They do let the Canaanites dwell among them.

You know, there might be several reasons

why they let that happen.

They might have said to themselves,

oh, what harm can they do?

They're a conquered people.

We've already defeated them.

We can assimilate them

into our culture and religion.

We know one reason for sure

is that they thought the Canaanites

could be useful to them

because they reduced them to forced labor.

They used them as a resource,

even though God told them

not to keep them in the land.

They thought that they were strong enough

to resist the pull of idolatry,

but they ended up falling into it.

The same fate befalls those of us

who make light of sin and temptation.

Don't overestimate your strength

and self-control.

Jesus teaches us to pray,

lead us not into temptation for a reason.

Don't flirt with temptations.

Flee from them.

Cast them away.

Don't go near the idols.

Christian author Johnny Erickson Tata

has said this in one of her writings.

She said that sin spreads this way.

Though gradually,

though no one remembers exactly how it happened,

the unthinkable becomes tolerable

and then acceptable

and then legal

and then applaudable.

Sin makes an imperceptible progress

into your heart.

So flee from it.

Cast it away.

Worship is a zero-sum game.

Jesus says in Matthew 6, 24,

no one can serve two masters.

For either he will hate the one

and love the other

or he will be devoted to the one

and despise the other.

If a wife cheats on her husband,

a sensible man is not going to let his wife

keep doing that.

He's going to confront her

and issue an ultimatum

and say you must make a choice.

It's either going to be me

or it's going to be him.

There is a cosmic spiritual battle being waged

and to deprive God of the glory

and worship that he alone deserves

is idolatry.

There's no such thing as neutral ground.

That's why God says in the second commandment

that he is a jealous God.

He says in Isaiah 42, 8,

I am the Lord.

That is my name

and I will not give my glory to another

or my praise to idols.

There is no neutral ground

when it comes to worship.

To be an agnostic

is to not serve the Lord.

You've made your choice.

And it means that you have thrown your lot

with the false gods of this world.

But the Lord says,

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.

If you choose the Lord's side,

then he will fight for you.

If you choose the idols of the pagan nations,

then you will find yourself

fighting against the Lord.

Because there are only two sides

in this spiritual war.

Jesus says in Luke 11, 23,

whoever is not with me

is against me.

Andrew Murray in his book,

Absolute Surrender,

makes the connection

that in the book of Matthew,

there are two occasions

when Jesus uses the word deny.

He says in Matthew 16, 24,

he tells Peter and the other disciples,

deny yourself and take up your cross

and follow me.

And then later in Matthew 26, 34,

he tells Peter,

you will deny me three times.

Those are the two options

presented to all of humanity.

Either we deny ourselves

to follow Christ

or we deny Christ

to serve ourselves.

Which will it be?

Are you trying to have it both ways?

Are you trying to live for God

and live for yourself?

Are you trying to please God

and enjoy the pleasures

of this sinful world?

Are you trying to serve the Lord

while also serving

the idols of other religions?

God's word teaches us

that that is impossible.

We must make a choice.

That's the precept.

Now let's get the promise.

If you look at the promises

of verses 25 to 33,

the choice is a no-brainer.

Look at the wonderful promises

of God in verses 25 to 26.

You shall serve the Lord your God

and he will bless your bread

and your water

and I will take sickness away

from among you.

None shall miscarry

or be barren in your land.

I will fulfill the number

of your days.

These are beautiful verses

because they reveal God's heart

toward us.

Some of you have been homeless

and have known hunger

in your life.

Some of you know

what it's like to be sick

and hurting,

whether that's with cancer

or a stroke

or COVID

or depression

or arthritis

or a pinched nerve.

some of you know

the grief

of miscarriage

to experience

the joy

of expecting a child

only to meet

crushing

disappointment.

Some of you know

the pain of barrenness.

to so wish

to have a child

to hold

in your own arms

and to love

and yet

year

after year

goes by

without even

a sign of pregnancy.

some of you

have lost loved ones

to untimely deaths.

Those who did not

fulfill the number

of their days.

All of these pains

are marks

of a sinful

and fallen world.

They reflect

our alienation

from God

our creator

but they

do not

reflect

God's heart

for you.

God promised

the Israelites

that should they

faithfully keep

the covenant

that they have

made with him

they should have

his unfailing

provision

and protection

over them

and that

was his heart.

He wanted

to lavish

his people

with these blessings.

He wanted

to protect

his people.

He wanted

to provide

for his people.

That's why

he says

again and again

pay attention

to my word.

listen to my word

obey my word

so that I can

lavish these blessings

on you.

That's the heart

of the Lord.

So if you are

in the midst

of suffering

and affliction

you may go to God

with your honest

questions

and you can groan

before him

and you can lay

your complaints

before him

but as you do

that remember

his heart

toward you.

Lamentations

32-33

teaches us

that though God

does cause

grief

at times

he will again

have compassion

according to

the abundance

of his steadfast

love.

The same

verses say

also that

when God

afflicts us

and grieves

us

he does not

do so

quote

from his

heart.

Though we

may not

always understand

the sovereign

purposes of God

behind our

suffering

we can always

be assured

of his heart

toward his

people.

And if God

is protecting

his people

it necessarily

means that

he fights

against their

enemies.

So he says

in verses

27-28

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.

The word

drive out

is a key word

here that

occurs four

times in

verses 28-31

and the goal

is complete

expulsion of

the idol

worshippers

from the

land of

Canaan

lest they

be a snare

to the

Israelites

and lead

them astray

to sin.

God's

cleansing

the land

of its

sin

and idolatry.

That's why

he says

earlier in

verse 23

he will

blot them

out

efface them

from

Canaan

land.

But God

is not going

to drive out

the nations

in one

fell swoop.

It says

in verses

29-30

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 possessed

the land.

It's a very

interesting

statement.

Even the

pace at

which God

drives out

the nations

is very

deliberate.

he demonstrates

his wisdom

and care

for his

people.

According to

verse 31

the promised

land that

God is

giving them

will have

as its

border

from the

Red Sea

to the

north

and the

Sea of

the Philistines

which is the

Mediterranean Sea

to the

north.

And then

it's going

to stretch

all the way

to the

Euphrates

River

in the

east

and from

the Sinai

Peninsula

the Sinai

wilderness

in the

west.

That's a

sprawling

territory

that

encompasses

part or

all of

modern day

Egypt,

Israel,

Lebanon,

Syria,

Saudi Arabia,

and Iraq.

So if

all the

idolatry

nations

occupying

these lands

are driven

out all

at once,

vast swaths

of the

land will

remain

unoccupied

for generations

because Israel

is not

numerous enough

to fill

the land.

During

that time

the land

will become

desolate

and the

wild beasts

will multiply

making it

perhaps

uninhabitable.

So even

our perceived

slowness

on God's

part to

fulfill his

promise

is an

expression

of God's

patience

and God's

care.

Does God

seem slow

in answering

your prayers?

Does God

seem slow

in fulfilling

the promises

he's made

to you?

Is your

business

not growing

as quickly

as you'd

like it

to?

Is your

career not

taking off

as quickly

as you

had

envisioned?

Are you

not getting

married or

having children

as quickly

as you

had hoped?

Did you

think that

you'd be in

full-time

vocational

ministry by

this stage

of your

life?

God knows

our

God's

reasons for

these seeming

delays in

our lives

but these

verses are

a helpful

reminder to

trust in

God's

wisdom.

The Lord

is not

slow to

fulfill his

promise as

some count

slowness but

is patient

toward you.

God knows

exactly what

we can handle.

God knows

our weaknesses

and limitations.

It's important

to notice

here who

the primary

agent of

the driving

out of

the nations

is.

Look at

verses 29

to 30

again.

Twice it

says,

I will

drive them

out.

Of the

four instances

of the

verb drive

out,

only one

of them,

verse 31,

has as its

subject the

word you,

the Israelites.

So that does

tell us that

Israelites have a

role to play.

They do have a

responsibility.

They do have to

go to war and

be a part of

the driving out

of the nations.

But three out

of the four

times, the

subject of the

verb is the

Lord himself or

the thing that

the Lord is

sending.

And that's

where the

theological

weight of

this passage

is.

It's the

Lord who

will ultimately

drive out

these pagan

nations out

of the

promised land.

In particular,

there are two

things that the

Lord will

send in order

to drive out

these nations.

First, verse

27 says, I

will send my

terror before

you.

And verse 28

says, I will

send hornets

before you.

The terror that

the Lord sends

likely refers to

the dread and

panic that

overtake the

enemies of God

as they hear

Israel approaching

and learn of

how the Lord

has previously

delivered them

and fought on

their behalf in

the past.

the result of

this terror that

God sends ahead

of the Israelites

is that it

throws them into

confusion, it

says, and all

the people against

whom they shall

come.

And the Lord,

it says, will

make all their

enemies turn

their backs to

them.

So that expression

to turn their

backs to them is

more literally, I

will give all

your enemies to

you by the

neck.

That's the

literal expression.

Since the word

neck is often

associated in

Hebrew with the

back of the

head, to turn

the neck is to

turn your head

away from

someone.

So the

translators assume

that it means

them turning

their backs and

running away is

what they assumed.

But I think it's

more likely that

the expression is

closer to the

English idiom,

having someone by

the throat.

Because the verb

used here is not

turn, it doesn't

say turn your

neck, it says I

will give them

to you by the

neck.

So it's not a

picture of flight,

but it's a picture

of subjugation.

And surrender.

Similar to how

Jacob blesses his

son Judah in

Genesis 49, 8,

saying your hands

shall be on the

neck of your

enemies.

God is going to

hand over their

enemies to the

Israelites.

It's the second

expression in verse

28 that paints a

picture of flight,

of the enemies

fleeing.

It says, and I

will send hornets

before you which

shall drive out the

Hivites, the

Canaanites and the

Hittites from before

you.

That's when they

flee.

If you look at the

footnote in your

ESV Bibles after

the word hornets,

it tells you that

it can also be

translated the

hornet in the

singular.

In Hebrew, the

word is singular.

But because the

translators couldn't

make sense of a

single hornet driving

out the nations, they

assumed it must be

hornets, must be

collective.

So that's how they

translated it.

However, I don't

think it's referring to

literal hornets for a

couple reasons.

One, because the

word hornet is

singular here and

not plural.

And the two other

times this promise is

repeated in Deuteronomy

7.20 and Joshua 24.12,

in both of those

places the word

hornet is also

singular.

Two, later, when the

Israelites actually

drive out the

Hivites and the

Canaanites and the

Hittites, there is no

mention of God ever

sending hornets.

And then three,

verses 27 and 28

structurally parallel

each other.

I will send my

terror before you, and

then I will send the

hornet before you.

Since the expression

sending my terror

employs figurative

language, you can't

literally send terror

like a messenger.

I think it's likely

that the parallel

phrase, send the

hornet, is also

figurative.

Just as when a

person is chased by a

hornet, the person

flees, the hornet of

the Lord will drive

out the idolatrous

nation from Canaan.

But that still begs

the question, what

exactly is the

hornet who terrorizes

the enemies of God?

There's only one other

word in this passage

that is also the object

of the verb send, and

that's in verse 20.

behold, I send an

angel before you.

Which parallels, I will

send my terror before

you.

Which parallels, I will

send the hornet before

you.

It's the angel of the

Lord, the messenger of the

Lord, who goes before the

Israelites to strike fear

into the hearts of all of

God's enemies.

enemies.

It's the angel of the

Lord himself who goes

before them to make them

flee and to drive them

out before the Israelites.

Later on, in Joshua 24,

12, as the Israelites

reflect on how God has

fulfilled this promise,

the Lord says this, and I

sent the hornet before

you, which drove them out

before you, the two kings

of the Amorites.

It was not by your sword

or by your bow.

Again, the emphasis here

is that as long as Israel

remains loyally aligned

to the Lord, this is the

Lord's battle, and he will

fight on their behalf and

win.

Yes, the Israelites will use

their swords and bows, but

God makes it unmistakably

clear the battle was not won

by your bow and your sword.

It was my hornet.

It was my terror.

It was my messenger.

The decisive agent here is

the angel of the Lord, not

the Israelites.

That brings us to my final

point, the pardon and the

mysterious identity of this

angel of the Lord.

As I've said before, when we

come across the word angel in

the Bible, we should not

immediately think of images

of Cupid.

Valentine's Day is coming

up.

You know that picture of

Cupid, the little baby

angel with the wings and an

arrow.

You should not think of

that or think of this

winged cherub.

That's not what an angel is

like.

The word angel simply means

messenger.

It could refer to all kinds

of messengers.

It could refer to human

messenger.

It could refer to angelic

messengers.

But often it is a spiritual

being sent by God.

But in this passage, we see

evidence that this angel of

the Lord is no mere angel.

For example, in verse 22, the

voice of the angel of the

Lord and what the Lord

himself says are conflated.

He says, if you carefully

obey his voice and do all

that I say.

What the angel of the Lord

says is what the Lord says.

And in verse 21, warns

Israelites about rebelling

against the angel of the

Lord this way.

for he will not pardon your

transgression for my name is

in him.

It does not say that the

messenger speaks in the name

of God.

It says that Yahweh's name is

in him.

For that reason, this angel of

the Lord has the authority and

the power to pardon transgression.

And we know from the gospels,

Mark 2, 7 and Luke 5, 21, that

no one can forgive sins.

But God alone.

So we've seen this blurring of

the lines between Yahweh and

the angel of Yahweh before.

If you remember from Exodus

Exodus 3:2

chapter 3, verse 2, it said

that the angel of the Lord

appeared to Moses in a flame of

fire and out of a mist of a

bush.

That's the angel of the Lord.

But in that very same passage,

just a couple lines down, it

says that the Lord saw and God

called to Moses out of the

bush.

And he says, do not come near.

Take your sandals off your feet

for the place on which you are

standing is holy ground.

I am, says the angel of

Yahweh.

I am the God of your father,

the God of Abraham, the God of

Isaac, the God of Jacob.

The angel of the Lord is here

very closely identified with

Yahweh himself.

Similarly, later in Joshua 5, 13

to 15, as Israelites are

readying themselves for the

conquest of the land of Canaan,

we actually see this angel of

the Lord that God has sent.

And this is what it says.

When Joshua was by Jericho, he

lifted up his eyes and looked

and behold, a man was standing

before him with his drawn sword

in his hand.

And Joshua went to him and said

to him, are you for us or for

our adversaries?

And he said, no, but I am the

commander of the army of the

Lord.

Now I have come.

And Joshua fell on his face to

the earth and worshiped and said

to him, what does my Lord say to

his servant?

And get this.

And the commander of the Lord's

army said to Joshua, take off

your sandals from your feet for

the place where you are standing

is holy.

And Joshua did so.

There's a fascinating parallel

between the burning bush and this

commander of the Lord's army.

In both places, the angel of the

Lord tells the man to take off the

sandals because it's holy ground

and they do it.

In Joshua passage, the Joshua

actually worships the angel.

In other places in the Bible,

whenever men try to worship an

angel, the angel stops them.

Like in Revelation 22, 8, 9, he

says to John, you must not worship

me because I'm a fellow servant with

you and your brother, the prophets.

Worship God.

But why does this angel of the

Lord not say that?

Because he's not just an angel.

This angel is a manifestation of

Yahweh himself.

Both the Old and New Testaments are

clear that man cannot see Yahweh and

live.

And yet, Yahweh reveals himself and

appears as the angel of the Lord so

people can see him.

The angel of the Lord is in this

sense a visible manifestation of the

invisible God.

Distinct from Yahweh himself and yet

one and the same.

This is why many pastors and

theologians make the connection that

the angel of the Lord in the Old

Testament is in fact the pre-

incarnate form of Jesus.

Jesus appeared before he took on human

flesh.

Jesus appearing with the sword in his

hand to go before his people to drive

out the enemies.

It's an appearance of God.

Appearance of the Son of God.

It's Jesus, the eternal word of God, who

goes before the Israelites to fight their

battles ahead of them and drive out the

nations before them.

Imagine being in their shoes.

We know from Deuteronomy 7, 7 that when

God first chose the Israelites, they were

quote, the fewest of all peoples.

They were not a mighty throng.

And they were nomads and wanderers in the

wilderness for 40 years.

What kind of weapons do they have?

Their enemies have chariots of iron, it

says in Judges 119.

When Sinatra, king of Assyria, invades

Judah, he mocks God's people this way.

In Isaiah 36, 8, I will give you 2,000

horses if you are able on your part to

set riders on them.

You can't even put trained riders on the

horses I give you for free.

What power do you have to oppose me?

In their own strength, the Israelites are a

feeble army.

Who are they to stand against all the

nations of Canaan?

The key to their victory is not their own

might, but the Lord Jesus who fights for

them.

And the same is true for us believers in the

new covenant.

Despite all the promises and warnings of this

passage, the Israelites failed to pay attention

to the voice of the Lord.

In Judges 1, we are told over and over again

that the Israelites did not drive out the

Canaanites.

Israelites did not drive out the Canaanites.

Israelites did not drive out the Canaanites.

Again and again and again.

And this is the verdict of the angel of the

Lord in Judges 2, 1 to 3.

I brought you up from Egypt and brought you

into the land that I swore to give to your

fathers.

I said I will never break my covenant with you

and you shall make no covenant with the

inhabitants of this land and you shall break

down their altars.

But you have not obeyed my voice.

What is this you have done?

So now I say I will not drive them out before

you, but they shall become thorns in your

sides and their gods shall be a snare to you.

This is in fact what happens.

God does fulfill his promise.

He does bring them into the promised land.

However, because they let the Canaanites dwell

with them instead of driving them out, they

become a thorn in their side.

They ensnare them with their idolatry and

eventually their apostasy leads to their exile

and dispossession of the land from the land.

Sin was the root.

Sin had separated Israel from God.

Sin had kept them from the protections and

provisions of the covenant.

And it's for that reason that God sends Jesus

once more to go before his people, this time in

human flesh to defeat sin and death once and for

all and bring us forever into a covenant

relationship with God.

Sin and Satan are too powerful of an enemy for

us to fight in our own strength.

Can you imagine being faced with the fortress of

the enemy, the gates of Hades?

He has all the dirt on you.

He knows everything you have done, all the ways in

which you have sinned, all the ways in which you have

broken the covenant with God who has given you only

good things.

And he bars your way and says, no, you may not enter into

God's promised land.

But we have a champion.

We have the Lord, the angel of Yahweh.

Jesus Christ with the sword in his hand goes before us and

fights that battle for us.

And he defeats sin and death once and for all on the

cross.

He crushes the serpent's head underneath his feet so that he

can give us the right to be children of God so that he can

lead us in to the promised land.

That's why in Mark 2, 5, Jesus pronounces to the

paralytic, son, your sins are forgiven.

It said here, the angel of the Lord will not pardon your

transgression because my name is in him.

What's the difference?

The Lord who is just and holy cannot pardon transgression

without payment.

But Jesus pardons our transgressions because he has

made satisfaction.

Because he has made atonement.

Because he has paid for it on the cross.

And he has won that battle decisively.

And that's the promised land that we have to look forward to.

The author of Hebrews in chapter 11 makes the connection that the

promised land that Abraham and Isaac and Jacob look forward to is

not the literal promised land, the physical land of Israel in the

Middle East.

But rather it's a city that has foundations whose designer and

builder is God.

The promised land of the Old Testament was merely a type, a

foreshadowing of the ultimate promised land, our heavenly inheritance,

the kingdom that we inherit as God's people.

And we are right now pilgrims journeying toward that promised land.

Right now we feel like aliens.

Right now we feel away from home.

But one day we will be home.

And it says when that day comes,

Revelation 21, for he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death

shall be no more.

Neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore for the

former things have passed away.

All these wonderful promises of God in his past fulfilled eternally.

That's what we are headed to.

So brothers and sisters, let's lay aside every weight and sin,

which so clings so closely and let's run with endurance the race that is set

before us.

Our heavenly father waits us in our home.

So let's pay attention to his voice and follow his guidance all the way.

Let's pray together.

Let's pray together.

Father, we desire nothing more than to be home with you, Lord.

Lord.

To know your eternal love perfectly.

To rest in your arms.

To hear you say,

well done, good and faithful servant.

Enter into the joy of your master.

But Lord, we know that the race is not over.

We need to press on.

And to that end,

we must pay attention to your voice.

And follow your voice.

So Lord,

incline our ears and our hearts toward your word.

Lord,

make us a people,

a church that cherishes and guards your word in our hearts.

Thank you,

Father,

for sending Jesus,

our champion,

our representative,

our warrior,

our king,

who fights for us.

We love you.

We worship you.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.