Exemplifying Faith

 

Hebrews 11:1-40

We are saved and justified by faith alone and it has nothing to do with our good works. However, our justification by faith does not exist by itself, and it would surely bear fruits.

 ^“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (v 6)

“He must believe that God exists” has to do with believing the fact that God does exist. God is the object or goal that we seek, and thus makes our seeking meaningful. The statement that says, “rewards those who earnestly seek Him,” means that the action of seeking shall yield fruit, a reward given by our faithful and gracious God.

When Jesus was ministering on earth, He came to Capernaum one day and four men carried with them a paralytic man. “Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on.” He was laid in front of Jesus.

This was their action by faith, and they trusted that Jesus was able and willing to heal that paralyzed man. They believed that Jesus shall reward those who sought after Him. As a result, Jesus “saw” their faith, and He exercised His authority to pardon sin, and he healed the paralytic man (Mark 2:1-12).

Faith is “visible” because of its expression as well as its observable fruit. This is faith with action. It is a perfect and effectual faith.

The heroes in God’s Hall of faith found in Hebrews 11 shows vividly the relationship between faith and action (or deed), and fruits of faith. Faith and action do not go against each other, but they flow in the same direction. Or we could even say that action is an extension of our faith. Faith is the head and action, the feet.

Let’s look specifically at the Bible about the expressions of faith, and what actions or fruits are produced by faith. 

Faith is expressed in worship. Abraham believed in God. He built altar and made sacrifices to worship God. And God was pleased with him. True worship is the fruit of our faith.

Faith is expressed in long-term everyday life. Enoch believed in God. He was not merely sound in his doctrines, but he “walked with God for three hundred years” in response to his faith (Genesis 5:22). Enoch’s life was different from all the people of his days. God was pleased with Enoch, and he had a different ending as he was taken away by God without seeing death. Those who have faith and walk with God shall surely lead a holy and godly lifestyle and be blessed by God.

Faith is expressed in work：Noah believed in God, and he feared God and followed God’s instructions by preparing the ark. His work is testifying God and proclaiming the salvation of God, regardless of how the world would react or respond. In the end, the world rejected their salvation by refusing to enter the ark and they were destroyed. Only Noah’s family of eight was saved.

Faith is expressed in responding to God’s calling. Abraham obeyed God’s call and went out to the land which would be his possession. Though he was uncertain of where he would go, he went by faith.

Faith is expressed in trusting God’s promises. Sarah believed in God’s words. Though both Abraham and she were at their old age and their bodies were as good as dead, they trusted in God’s promises. From her body that was as though dead she gave birth to his son, Isaac, and hence, many descendants were produced.

Faith is expressed in giving. Even though Abraham had Isaac as his only beloved son and Isaac was God’s promised son, he obeyed God and went to offer Isaac as a burnt sacrifice when God instructed him so. It was because he believed that since God was able to “call into being things that were not,” and caused the dried wood to bear fruit, so that a lively and strong son was born through an old-aged woman who had passed the age of child-bearing, and He was “the God who gives life to the dead” (Romans 4:17), that willingly he offered Isaac, and as a result, he received back his son who was spared from death, and became the “father of all nations”.

This is the principle of “Jehovah Jireh”, that we offer God everything we have, and in return, we shall experience God’s provision that goes beyond our expectation. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ reveals this principle (John 11:24). True giving to God also works on this principle: There is a lost and found and we receive more than we have given.

Faith expressed in blessing the descendants. Isaac was gentle and at peace with others. He lived in a tent and wandered around without a permanent residence. He did not have his own land too, but by faith he prayed for Esau and Jacob and gave them their blessings. He was like a wealthy king. Jacob became a refugee in Egypt, but he was able to bless his descendants. All these were the expressions of their faith.

Faith goes beyond this life. Joseph was surrounded by the Egyptians, and he enjoyed the richness of Egypt. Nevertheless, he knew Egypt was not his inheritance. He was aware that his descendants would come out from Egypt, and hence, he looked forward to be buried in the land of Canaan.

Faith makes right choices. The faith of Moses caused him to make a radical decision: He was the adopted son of the daughter of Pharaoh, and he might be the heir who would succeed Pharaoh as the king. Yet willingly he chose to leave the palace and identify himself with the slaves, the Israelites. He was willing to suffer with God’s people and lead them out of Egypt into the Promised Land.  What he had done was very similar to what Jesus did. Jesus was the Prince of the Heavenly Court but he left heaven and incarnated on earth so as to die for us and deliver us from death in sin. 

Faith is obeying God’s command and co-laboring with Him. The Israelites entered the Land of Canaan under the leadership of Joshua. They did not employ their army but submitted to God’s commands by marching around the city for seven days in the fortified city of Jericho. Their action was really weird, but as they trusted God and followed His words, the city walls crumbled and fell.

Faith is submitting to God’s destiny. Rahab lived in the city of doom, but she believed in God’s power and received the Israelite spies peacefully. At the end, not only her whole household was saved, but her name was listed in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.

Faith enables us to be strong and courageous. The last listed are Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, David and Samuel. They shared the common characteristics, i.e., they could look up to God and see God’s existence and face their problems courageously in their adversities. They connected with God and were willing to risk their lives and suffer all pains. They demonstrated an extraordinary boldness and courage, and this was their effect of trusting God.

All these men of faith had their actions that corresponded to their faith. They left behind their footprints of faith, so that we could traced their footsteps.

Conclusion

Many people misunderstood that the book of James talks about deeds only, whereas its true purpose is to talk about exemplifying faith with actions or deeds. James 2:18-22, But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God, Good! Even the demons believe that —and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.

What is taught here tells us that faith and action is inseparable, and they cannot go against each other. It is impossible to have faith without action, but faith must be expressed through action. Our testimony is only completed with the combination of faith and action.

Let’s seek for God’s mercy in this Advent as we look forward to celebrating the birth of Jesus, that God will fill us with the Holy Spirit and revive us and make us full of faith. By then, we could wait upon the coming of the Lord and behold His salvation to come upon all peoples. We also shall go out with full faith to receive the Lord, and to follow Him by loving Him and people and by serving Him and others.

Let’s write a book about the faith of the church and be someone among the cloud of witnesses in order to bring glory to God’s name, that all men shall come and believe in the Lord Jesus and follow Him too. May glory be to Jesus, the Savior, our author and finisher of faith. Amen!

Be Strong, Take Heart, and Wait for the LORD

 Psalm 27:1-14

Live A Life of Worship

Psalm 27:1-6, “The LORD is my light and my salvation—who shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident. One thing I ask from the Lord, this is what I seek:  that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in this dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.”

The psalmist never complained to God or fell away from Him though he lived under an environment that was filled with troubles and life-threatening disturbances. Instead, he uttered his greatest desire to be able to dwell securely in the house of the Lord and worship Him. This is something that touches me deeply.

However, for the psalmist to consistently worship in God’s temple, to offer a pleasing sacrifice to God, and to behold God’s glory in His court, was never something to be taken for granted.

Let’s examine how to live a life of worship which is indeed a promising, satisfying and blessed life.

The Bible records a vision that really saddens our hearts. Prophet Ezekiel saw in his vision that the Temple of Jerusalem was filled with idols, and the glory of God was departing from the Temple itself.

First, His glory went up from above the cherubim over the ark, moved to the threshold of the Temple (Ezekiel 9:3) and stopped there. Then, it moved to the east gate of the temple (Ezekiel 10:19）and rest on it. Eventually, the glory of God departed from Jerusalem (Ezekiel 11:23).

The people of God worshipped idols in His Temple. Hence, God had to leave, and He no longer dwelled in Jerusalem. The people of God lost the presence of God because of their sins.

Nevertheless, God was gracious and merciful, and He desired to renew His people. In a later vision, Ezekiel saw the glory of God entering the new Temple. (Ezekiel 43:4） They offered sacrifices to God, and God said, “I will accept you.” (Ezekiel 43:27）

This beautiful picture of men being reconciled to God is not merely the pivotal moment in the book of Ezekiel, but it serves as the pivotal point in human’s life too. The birth of Jesus Christ presents this beautiful picture perfectly before us.

Man is separated from God, and he has lost God’s presence in his life because of his sin, and he does not know how to worship and fear God. The Bible says, men have fallen short of God’s glory.

Yet the birth of the Lord Jesus has brought us salvation, cleansed us completely from all sins and renewed our lives so that we could know God and come before Him in worship. Therefore, we should give thanks to the Lord Jesus whenever we come to worship God and appreciate Him for saving us by giving up His life and by shedding His blood for us.

Thus, it is only rightful to say, the Gospel of salvation of Christ is always the center of our worship! We ought to make Christ as the center of our life.

As we desire for God’s mercy and acceptance when we come before Him and worship in His temple, the most pleasing act to God is that we do His will.

The Old Testament scripture records in great details how the people of God should carry out the ritual of sacrifice offerings and worship. In the time when Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary offered the child Jesus to the Lord by following the instructions given in the law (Luke 2:22-24). We can see that worship and sacrifice offerings were done in accordance with God’s instructions.

Today, we do not bring cows, sheep or pigeons to church and offer them as sacrifices to Him, but the Bible has informed us that God demands us to offer our body as a living sacrifice.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” (Romans 12:1）

By offering our body as a living sacrifice, it means that we live in accordance with the will of God throughout our lifetimes as a way of serving Him. The Lord Jesus is our example, for He said, “I have come to do your will, my God.” （Hebrews 10:7）

Besides, we are also to make our prayer and praises as the sacrifice.

Every Sunday as we sing and praise God in unison in the house of God, we are also offering the sacrifice that pleases Him. “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” (Hebrews 13:15）

For this reason, we remind the congregation constantly that we ought to join the online worship during the pandemic times. We must continue to connect with God and with others. In this way we could continue a life of worship together with other brothers and sisters.

Other than offering our praises to God, the Bible also reminds us that, “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” (Hebrews 13:16). That is offering our wealth with faith and love.

God is pleased with us also when we offer our money and possession. The Lord Jesus once praised the poor widow who offered her two little coins and Mary who offered Jesus an alabaster jar of perfume. Both of them had offered their gifts out of their faith and love for the Lord, and they received God’s acceptance and praises.

Paul, the apostle, also said that the monies offered by the church of Philippi to support his mission work was a pleasing sacrifice to God. “I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.” (Philippians 4:18)

The more faith we have in God, the more we dare to give our monies to be used in the Kingdom of God. We believe that God shall be pleased with our offerings, and He would surely bless us greatly.

By the way, we will be grateful if we truly appreciate Christ’s sacrificial love, that He has given up Himself to save us. Consequently, we will be willing to offer our wealth to be used in the Kingdom of God. A Christian who keeps on saying “thank God” but unwilling to give generously does not really appreciate the grace freely given by Christ through His salvation.

We are in fact sinners who once were drowning and heading towards destruction, yet Christ has saved us. We are merely sinners who are blessed with the free grace of forgiveness from. We can’t contribute anything to have received Christ’s salvation. May Christ’s sacrificial love once again inspires us to love others and to help them and forgive their sins.

We must examine our own hearts and observe if our focus is fixed on God when we come to worship in the temple of God and offer our monies and ourselves to serve Him. Who indeed is the one that we offer our sacrifices to?

The vision of Ezekiel tells us a very sad fact, that the Temple of Jerusalem was filled with idols. It reflects that although the people of God were worshipping in the Temple, yet they actually worshipped themselves instead of worshipping God. Idols are man-made to satisfy human egos themselves.

We should always keep watch over our hearts and remind ourselves that there is only One Person that we could worship, and that is none other than the Lord who has created us and redeemed us. We must follow the instructions of the Lord and the teachings found in the Bible, over and above our own will.

Not only does God enable us to receive the grace and blessings of worshipping God in the Temple, but also the greatest contentment and joy for those who wait and look upon Him in the Temple.

Simeon was a pious man and he believed that God would surely grant His salvation as He promised. Therefore, He was waiting for the coming of the Savior throughout His lifetime. As a result, He really met Jesus, the Savior, in the Temple of God. His heart was filled with exceeding joy, and he embraced baby Jesus in his arms and praised God and said, “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation.” (Luke 2:29-30）

These words show that Simeon could then pass on to eternity because his desire was fulfilled! This inner satisfaction and joy were revealed vividly. The faithful Lord has given His salvation in accordance with His promise and those who look up to Him shall receive the greatest contentment in their lives.

David experienced many wonderful things in his life. He had with him all fame, power, wealth, etc. Yet this was his desire, “and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23:6)

Today, may our hearts be fully satisfied, calm and rest in peace when we come before God and look upon Him by faith, just as the psalmist encourages us in verses 13-14, “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

Conclusion

God has already given us the best, Jesus, His One and Only Son. Jesus is also known as “Emmanuel”, and it means, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23)

Hopefully every one of us shall be reconciled to God through the salvation of Christ Jesus, and that we are able to worship in His court and offer the sacrifices that please His heart. And, may we all be strong, take heart and wait for the LORD in his court. We will surely enjoy the greatest contentment in our lives.

May we also love others and forgive others with the love of Christ, and help those who are around us, so that people might see Christ in our midst, and put their trust in Him and worship Him together with us.

A Call to Worship God

 

Psalm 111

Great Are the LORD’s Works

What is worship? If we ask Christians what worship means and why he needs to worship, it’d be as though we ask a person what breathing means and why he needs to breathe. Though he might do it consistently, he could not really understand it nor fully comprehend it.

Most Christians know that worship is what every believer should do after coming to believe in Jesus. However, does it mean that we can consider something as worship as long as there are ritual expressions and offerings performed, and certain category of ceremonial requirements, like festive dates, methods or sacrifices, etc., met accordingly?

Let’s hear the warning that prophet Isaiah issued to the people in the southern Kingdom of Judah, how he reproached the worshippers because their actions did not align with their worship rituals.

Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah! “The multitude of your sacrifices—what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood!” (Isaiah 1:10-15)

We realize the level of corruption of the Israelites by the way they were addressed in verse 10. Sodom and Gomorrah were two adulterous cities that were destroyed by the burning flame of God in Abraham’s time. In brief, the people of the southern Kingdom of Judah, from the top down to the bottom, were perceived by God as a people who deserved nothing, but doom!

Verses 11 to 15 inform us that the Lord was displeased with their grand worship ceremonies held in festive seasons together with the abundant sacrifices they offered to Him. Instead, He found them extremely annoying and detestable. He even perceived their worship rituals as an act that had desecrated the temple.

The Israelites ‘worship invoked nothing but God’s anger, and it caused Him to shun them and refuse to listen to all their prayers and petitions.

The second part of verse 15 points out the reasons why God detested the worship of Judah, “Your hands are full of blood!” It describes the fact that the Israelites did not consecrate themselves to worship God. We can see from here that God is intolerant of any unholy and false worship with mere religious forms.

Both prophets Micah and Amos issued similar warning to the people in relation to their issue of worship.

With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. （Micah 6:6-8）

“I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! （Amos 5:21-24）

God also told Cain who later killed his brother Abel. “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” （Genesis 4:7）

But Samuel replied king Saul: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” (1 Samuel 15：22-23）

In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus rebuked the Jews then who merely had deeds with religious forms. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” （Matthew 23:23）

What is worship? Why do we need to worship? Let’s discuss it from Psalm 111.

What is worship?

Praise the Lord. I will extol the Lord with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly. Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them. …The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. (Psalm 111:1,2,10)

Worship is man’s response towards God’s deeds which translates to praises and thanksgiving. “In the council of the upright and in the assembly” means that those people were pleased with God, and they worshiped God in unity with one another in their fellowship and gatherings.

Therefore, worship is giving glory to God collectively as a means of serving Him by those who please Him. All these responses of praise and thanksgiving are not mere hollow words, but expressions of their objective probing and reflective thoughts. “Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.”

Therefore, Christians will surely have a desire to know God if they believe in God’s deeds and love God’s Word genuinely. Moreover, we can come to understand and experience God’s deeds if we learn objectively from His Word and lead subjectively a lifestyle of devotion. True worship births forth from our fear of God, and the fear of God comes naturally by observing God’s commandments.

Why Must We Worship God?

The Psalmist describes God’s multiple acts in such a few short verses, and these are the reasons why people worship Him.

Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever. … He has shown his people the power of his works, giving them the lands of other nations. (Psalm 111:3, 6）

God acts justly and powerfully, and He controls all things in accordance with His eternal and righteous attributes. Hence, both His punishment and reward are absolutely fair.

He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever….; He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever—    holy and awesome is his name. （Psalm 111:5,9）

God does not merely provide our daily needs on earth, but He is the Savior of the world. Moreover, God is a Covenant Keeper, and He would never forget the covenant He made for He has ordained His own covenant. Therefore, God is worthy of the worship of the world because of His faithful saving grace.

The psalmist issued a sovereign and glorious address to God after his delicate study of God’s acts, and said, “holy and awesome is His name.” …; all his precepts are trustworthy. They are established for ever and ever, enacted in faithfulness and uprightness. (Psalm 111:7,8)

The Psalmist said God’s word is trustworthy, and it is eternally established because God is faithful Himself. Would not the God of faithfulness deserve all our worship?

He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate. (Psalm 111:4)

God has performed unique miracles in the human history, especially among the Israelites, His elect, that many signs and wonders were performed for them. He did these out of His mercy and love for them. What has been described here might refer to those events that took place during the times when the Israelites were in Egypt and the wilderness.

God did not merely perform His wonderful and unique acts in the lives of the Israelites, but He would also perform His amazing deeds in the midst of those who fear Him now.

God has performed many memorial acts throughout the church history through the redemptive works of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. For example, He moved the hearts of those who had committed towering sins and they repented and became His servants. He enabled many broken families, marriages and relationships to be restored because of the salvation of Christ.

Conclusion

True worship is about whether there is a true repentance from the worshipper, and whether he truly knows God himself. God prioritizes the attitude and character of a worshipper and holds these as the upmost traits over all kinds of worship customs and traditions.

A sincere worshipper, though not a perfect man, is a man who will seek to align his life with what he believes. In other words, he is someone who would love God and men genuinely. Only those who are willing to learn to love God and men sincerely are able to have genuine and truthful worship.

Be A Faithful Royal Priesthood

 

Exodus 14:1-31

The Israelites Crossing the Red Sea

Exodus 14 records yet another amazing miracle that the Lord did for the people of Israel after they had come out from Egypt, their place of slavery, when He led them through the Red Sea on foot!

We may easily have mistaken the significance of the Red Sea crossing as just another miracle which God delivered the Israelites from the hand of Pharoah. If we were to pay attention to the records found in Exodus 14, we would come to discover that God had a specific purpose for performing the miracle.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. (v1-2）

The Israelites had just been delivered from the hands of Pharaoh, and they should leave Egypt and go as far as possible by all means after surviving the pursuit. Yet the Lord instructed Moses to ask the Israelites to turn back and it is something puzzling to us. However, we would come to understand His intention as we read on.

“Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them.⁾ But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this. （Exodus 14:3-4）

“I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.” （Exodus 14:17-18）

The Lord wanted to be glorified in the case of Pharaoh and his army, so that they would know that He was God!  The Egyptians were people of pantheism. The ten plagues that the Lord sent upon the land of Egypt had targeted all the Egyptian revered deities. “So that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other.” (1 Kings 8:60)

It is natural for the Lord God to have a desire to be glorified among all nations, for this is what the world has fallen short of. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” （Romans 3:23）

God created all things to reveal His glory, especially mankind who bear His image and likeness. But unfortunately, the one who is supposed to glorify Him turns out to be the first creature that falls short of His glory.

The Lord God has a higher demand from His own people. The two sons of Aaron were killed by Him because they offered unauthorized fire. Moses said to Aaron who was grieving, “This is what the Lord spoke of when he said: “Among those who approach me, I will be proved holy; in the sight of all the people, I will be honored.” Aaron remained silent. (Leviticus 10:3）

The Lord God had His certain demand from His people, and hence, He had a long-term plan drawn up for the people of Israelites who had been residing in Egypt and who were influenced by the Egyptian culture for 430 years. God’s purpose for the Israelites was for His people to know that there is no other God like Him. He wanted his people to be set apart for Him and enabled Him to be glorified.

Pharaoh and his whole army were destroyed in the Red Sea. “And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.” （v31）

Did the Red Sea miracle really cause the Israelites to fear God wholeheartedly and be obedient under the leadership of Moses forever? The reality tells us that their fear and obedience were but, a temporal passion.

Subsequent to this, the Israelites grumbled to Moses because they could not get water to drink (Exodus 15：22-25). Then they came to the Desert of Sin. The whole assembly of Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron because there was no food for them to eat.

“If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” (Exodus 16:3)

In the journey later, the Israelites sinned against God and grumbled against and even attacked their leaders Moses and Aaron again and again because of their unbelief. Though they also were judged and punished by the Lord God many times, they were still too stubborn to be changed.

The Lord God had performed many miracles among the Israelites forty years in the wilderness. For example, the leading of the pillar of fire and cloud, and raining down of manna and quails on time, turning the bitter water to become sweet water, and gushing of water from the rock, etc.

However, all these miracles were not able to make the Israelites trust and submit to God wholeheartedly and genuinely for long. This fact reminds us again that we do not merely rely on miracles to make sinners have true repentance. The miracles in the wilderness were God’s means for the Israelites to know His grace, to know that he is only true and mighty God, and to allow them opportunities to repent, in order to learn and observe His commandments.

Moses cried out to the Israelites in Deuteronomy: “Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.” (Deuteronomy 8:2-5)

The Word of God is the very basis of man’s existence. Man will have no meaning for existence if there is no Word of God, and they will fall short of God’s grace.

The Kohelet also concluded his exploration in life and said, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

The apostle Paul also emphasized the effectiveness of God’s Word by saying, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” （2 Timothy 3：16-17）

Nevertheless, merely by impartation and teaching of biblical knowledge in an objective manner will not bring others to conversion. The Lord God oversaw and led the Israelites personally for 40 years, like a father who disciplined his children.

The author of Hebrews in the New Testament also issues a similar reminder to the Christians, “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?  If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.” （Hebrews 12：7-8）

Conclusion

The Lord purposely allowed Moses and the Israelites to experience many trials and challenges like the crossing of the Red Sea, during their 40 years of journey in the wilderness, in order for them to learn many spiritual lessons from trials and battles. The Israelites were to glory God as his chosen holy people on earth, and remain faithful to him always.

The Israelites failed in their priestly function terribly, that’s why Christ, as a true Israelite, came later to accomplish God’s plan. Christ remained faithful to God until the end by giving up his life on the cross. What Christ had accomplished on the cross, being obedient to God’s will, are also our accomplishment as we put our trust in him.

The Israelites’ experiences and Christ’s work on the cross, both reveal that God is the Creator and redeemer, and also a Trainer! His purpose is to gather us together as his royal priests through Christ’ salvation, allowing us to know Him personally and declare His glory among the nations! 

May the love of Christ touch our hearts today. And may the Spirit empower us today, as we determine to follow Christ, setting our heart to be faithful to God until the end and learn to train ourselves to be useful servants of God.

May the well-known words of the apostle, Paul, become our encouragement and goal, for he said, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.” (1 Tim 1:12); “Which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.” (2 Tim 1:12)