The 'example'

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What does it mean when we are chosen to be the 'example' ?

What is the example...is it something we follow in doing or can it also be what not to do?  I think this requires dividing, 'deciding',  which (do or don't do?) < thus learning to divide the word (learning how to discern)

Let's look at the example that was left for us in Moses. I am so thankful that we have these examples written down and left for us,     let us not make these works of those that went before useless and vain    

Okay, we have in Exodus 24, (Please note this chapter takes place before Moses goes up the mountain to get the two tables of stone)

Exd 24:3     And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.

Exd 24:4       And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

Exd 24:5      And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.

Exd 24:6     And Moses took half of the blood, and put [it] in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

Exd 24:7      And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.

Exd 24:8      And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled [it] on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.


Okay this chapter shows that the people had already knowledge of what God expected of them...they received the law by hearing it and they all to obey it.

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okay, lets jump over to chapter 32 in Exodus...

We have the people waiting on Moses to come back down the mountain,

Exd 32:1     And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for [as for] this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

In this verse we should be able to grasp the people's thinking and reasoning...     To them it was Moses that lead them out...

Exd 32:7  And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted [themselves]:

   Seems God is agreeing and acknowledging what the people are believing and thinking...

Also note worthy is what God told Moses about the people...  have corrupted [themselves]

 

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Exd 32:9           And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it [is] a stiffnecked people:

Exd 32:10           Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.

Even after what the Lord has seen of 'this' people He says 'I will make of 'Thee' a great nation...'thee as in you (Moses) 

Exd 32:11           And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?

Moses is trying to give the people back to the Lord!   

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Exd 32:12           Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.

Okay, I think this verse says a lot about Moses  For one thing, we can grasp that Moses is worried about what others will say  and what I find truly awesome, Moses is not afraid to speak what he thinks  he even tells the Lord to repent of evil against 'thy' people...

Can we do that? like say "God , you are being evil in your heart against these people and you need to stop!"    Moses did!  Well, anyway Moses is still trying to give this people back to God with saying 'thy people'

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Moses goes on to say to the Lord,

Exd 32:13           Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit [it] for ever.

Okay, looking at this verse, Moses is reminding us of something important...and what's more Moses is also reminding the Lord   

to whom thou swarest by thine own self,

and saidst unto them

I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven  <  here is a really great reminder of what the Lord said 

He said that He would multiply 'your' seed...most people keep wanting to focus on the fact that the word seed is not plural, but one (that important too) but don't forget Jesus said live by every word...

YOUR SEED...not His seed 

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Okay, so what does it mean when He says 'your seed' ???   

Exd 32:14           And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

Well the Lord repented of the evil <that Moses boldly told Him was in His heart 

Exd 32:15         And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony [were] in his hand: the tables [were] written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other [were] they written.


I will save this verse for later... but let the word 'testimony' linger 

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Exd 32:19         And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.

Ooooh no!    Now Moses is letting what he just got done pointing out in the Lord, happen to him....

Make you want to go         

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Exd 32:21           And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?

Exd 32:22           And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they [are set] on mischief.

Now we got Aaron, doing what Moses did earlier up on the mountain with the Lord...note worthy Aaron is calling Moses 'my lord'...

Also notice that Moses is now calling the people..."this people"    they ain't belonging to anybody at this point!  Don't nobody want to own them! 

Exd 32:23           For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for [as for] this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

Now we have Aaron reminding Moses that he brought this people and lead them ...sounding familiar   

 

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Okay we have reached a part in this example that takes strength and patience to look at...

Exd 32:26        Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who [is] on the LORD'S side? [let him come] unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

Levi as in the priests...

Exd 32:27           And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, [and] go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.

Okay now I wonder, 'thus saith the Lord God of Israel' ...are those people considered Israel seeing how nobody at that point wants to own them?  God said they were Moses' and Moses says they are God's and then we have both God and Moses calling them 'this people' like the people are now disowned and orphaned   

Moses just ordered to be done what he had feared God was going to do Himself and Moses called it evil that God had that same desire ...



Exd 32:28        And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.

They did according to who's word?     the word of Moses .... why didn't Moses take his own advise that he gave God and repent of having that in his own heart, then turn away from it? 


Exd 32:29        For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves to day to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.


Consecrate yourselves... consecrate, like set apart  I thought God did that? 

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Exd 32:30     ¶     And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.

Okay we all know what it take to make atonement for sin...the wages of sin is death      


Exd 32:31           And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.

There we have again, 'this people' 

Now, Moses is awesome with speaking what is in his heart and on his mind!  But  did not God already tell him verses back in the chapter that the people had corrupted themselves, so why does Moses think God doesn't know what the people have been doing??? 

Exd 32:7  And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted [themselves]:

Exd 32:9           And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it [is] a stiffnecked people:

 

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Let's go back over this...and look at 'this people'  

The people already received knowledge of what God expected of them before Moses left them to go up the mountain and get the tables of stone...

And they to obey what God expected of them...

Who they obey seems to determine who is their Lord and God leading them... otherwise you are disowned and nobody wants to call you their people! When you are disowned you become a burden and thing being past back and forth between those in authority over you, and these are behind the scene going " they are yours not mind!"    sounds like me and 'H'   when one of the kids gets into a mess, I am prone to say "Look what YOUR child has done went and done! and he says, "that is NOT my child, but YOURS! 

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Exd 32:9           And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it [is] a stiffnecked people:

If you have a stiffneck, you can't turn your head very well to see in all directions without turning your body with your head...  

Exd 32:30     ¶     And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.

Exd 32:31           And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.

Exd 32:32           Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.


  Didn't God already 'repent' and turn from the evil Moses had pointed out? part of turning is forgiving all those involved including self...

Exd 32:33       And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

God said they corrupted themselves...Moses said they 'sinned'

God's answer without finger pointing...'Whosoever'

Exd 32:34           Therefore now go, lead the people unto [the place] of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.

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Okay, Moses is a great example of what happens when we don't pay attention to what is in our own hearts and what it is like to be blind to ourselves and what we are believing and thinking...

The people are a great example too!

But let's clump everyone into 'the people' <include Moses and Aaron and everybody  

At what point does any stop and consider what they ALL received by hearing and weigh it with what their heart is telling them?

Did they already know "thou shall not murder"  

What grounds would any have to stand on to say....   "Moses I can't do what you are asking me to do, because I just promised God I wouldn't"  

2Cr 3:15     But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.

Jer 31:33           But this [shall be] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Who is the house of Israel?   

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To go with this study, tsth has reminded me of 1 Corinthians 10 

[Adullam]

Okay, Moses is a great example of what happens when we don't pay attention to what is in our own hearts and what it is like to be blind to ourselves and what we are believing and thinking...

The people are a great example too!

But let's clump everyone into 'the people' <include Moses and Aaron and everybody  

At what point does any stop and consider what they ALL received by hearing and weigh it with what their heart is telling them?

Did they already know "thou shall not murder"  

What grounds would any have to stand on to say....   "Moses I can't do what you are asking me to do, because I just promised God I wouldn't"  

2Cr 3:15     But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.

Jer 31:33           But this [shall be] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Who is the house of Israel?  

The house of Israel is the unity of both houses represented by both Judah AND Ephraim. One is according to the flesh and the other according to the Spirit.

One begins with a natural birth according to the promise, and the other according to the Spirit according to the promise.

But each must possess the land (the soul) because salvation is for the soul, not the flesh or the spirit. So we all must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.

Remember it was Joshua (of Ephraim) that was tasked with possessing the land. So it is the calling in Christ of Ephraim of the nations to overcome sin, the devil and the world. In so doing we win our souls. Only when we give all to Christ do we overcome. He who loses his life for His sake, finds it!