“The Power of One” (Ex 33:12-23)

Life of Moses

D. L. Moody sums up 120 years of Moses’ life this way: “Moses spent forty years thinking he was somebody; then he spent forty years on the backside of the desert realizing he was nobody; finally, he spent the last forty years of his life learning what God can do with a nobody!” From somebody to nobody, then to God’s body.

Moses’ Intercession

Today’s story is the pinnacle of Moses' life. He sees a glimpse of God’s glory. Think about his life – a life of full of ups and downs. His beginning was not impressive at all. He was nobody. He was abandoned by his own parents when he was just three months old. But then Pharaoh’s daughter found him in the papyrus basket and pulled him out of the water. That’s why he was named “Moses” (drew). He grew up as a prince of Egypt. When he was 40, he thought he was in the prime of his life. He tried to save his people, the Israelites, from the oppressive Egyptians; but rather, he became a runaway murderer. He became nobody again. When he was called at the age of 80, he said to God, “I am nobody. How can I go to the king and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Ex 3:11 GNBUK). But eventually, he said “Yes” to God’s call. The call was to be a bridge, a mediator between God and his people.

As a mediator, in today’s story, Moses prays for God’s people. The Israelites committed a terrible sin. They made a golden calf for themselves. So Moses came before God and prayed on behalf of them, standing between God and the people, praying, “But now, if you will only forgive their sin – but if not, erase my name from the book you have written” (32:32). God said, “I will send an angel before you… but I will not go with you.” Moses replied, “If you don’t go with us, we don’t go.” Somehow Moses yoked himself with the Israelites. Somehow his own relationship to God was linked to Israel’s salvation. Because of his faithful intercession, the Israelites were forgiven. Because of his intimate relationship with God, the Israelites were saved. Moses was an effective mediator.

 

The Mediator

Moses points us to the Great Mediator, Jesus Christ our Lord. God agreed to forgive and go with Israel because he was pleased with his prophet Moses. In the same way, today God forgives and saves anyone who trusts in Jesus because he is pleased with his Son. “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt 3: 17).

Jesus is the Mediator. He does for us what Moses did for Israel. While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to God. And God heard his prayers because of his intimate relationship with God (cf. Heb 5:7). Jesus still lives today and always to intercede for us (7:25). He asks God to accept us not because we’re acceptable, but because he is. Jesus says to his Father, “If you are pleased with me, then save my people.” God says to Jesus, “I will do the very thing that you have asked. Because I am pleased with you, I will save everyone who trusts in you. O my beloved Son, I will be as pleased with them as I am with you.”[1]

 

Mully

So if anyone is in Christ, that person becomes a new person. Nobody becomes God’s body. Somebody becomes God’s body. We are forgiven and accepted if we come to Christ and trust and abide in him. Not only that, we are called. The same calling that Moses received – being a bridge between God and his people.

What does it look like being a bridge person? The other day my family and I watched a movie about one man’s journey – life of Charles Mully. He was born in the slums in Keyna. He was abandoned by his family at age six. He became a street child since then. One day he was invited to church. As he was listening to the preacher, new hope began to grow in his heart. The next day he walked 43 miles to Nairobi to get a job. Finally, he was hired. He worked hard. Later, he became a manager, then CEO of bus, tire, insurance, real estate, and oil companies. He became a millionaire. At the age of 40, Mr. Mully had one troubling incident. He encountered a group of street young men. They asked for money in return for protecting his car. He refused. Later his car was stolen. After this, he couldn’t work as before, because he saw himself in the street boys’ angry faces. He got out of his office early next day and drove and drove. He pulled over to the shoulder. He asked God, “Now I have a good family – a loving wife and eight children. Things are going so well. Why now? Why me?” For hours he wrestled with God. He knew God was calling him to help the poor. Finally, he surrendered, saying, “Yes” to God’s call. At that moment joy flooded into his heart.

That year, in 1989, Mully sold all his property and businesses. He and his wife were fully dedicated to helping street children. They rescued them, fed them, taught them, raised them as their own children. They became the biggest family in the world. Since 1989, for 34 years Charles and Esther Mully have rescued and taken in more than 23,000 abandoned children.[2] They are still doing it. They are bridge builders – between the fatherless and the Father of all.

 

Called

We are called to be a bridge person. Our Christian calling is to help someone come to Christ through our heart as a pathway, as a bridge. Our calling is to connect someone to God through our prayers, through our presence, through our service, through our gifts, and through our witness.

In Psalm 90, Moses prays this way:

The days of our life are seventy years

or perhaps eighty if we are strong;

even then their span is only toil and trouble;

they are soon gone, and we fly away…

So teach us to count our days

that we may gain a wise heart.

Moses’ life was like wine – the older the better. The last third part of his life (80-120) was best. Moses lived a glorious life – life with God. The Bible says that God would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend (33:11). He was a friend of God. As God’s friend, as God’s body, and as God’s mediator, he stood between God and his people, faithfully bringing them to God, through his heart as a bridge. What a blessing to discover and live out the calling! Have you discovered God’s call on your life? We may be born as nobody. Our beginning may be small. But my prayer is that we may say “Yes” to God’s call and lead many to Christ, and that our end may be glorious and shining like stars in Christ.

---

[1] Philip Graham Ryken, Exodus (ESV Edition) (p. 979). Crossway. Kindle Edition.

[2] Charles Mulli, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Mulli#cite_note-Boge-3 

“How Revival Comes” (Exodus 33:1-11)

Revival

In the Bible, the word "revival" comes from two Latin words: "re" meaning "again" and "vivo" meaning "to live.” Revival has multiple meanings, but some of them are as follows:

·       A reawakening of spiritual fervor

·       A sovereign work of God in which the whole region of many churches, many Christians has been lifted out of spiritual indifference and worldliness into conviction of sin

·       Making alive again those who have been alive but have fallen into what is called a cold, or dead, state

Probably one of the most vivid images of revival in the Bible would be Ezekiel 37, the Valley of Dry Bones. One day God took hold of Ezekiel, brought him out to the middle of a valley that was full of dry bones. Then, God asked him, “Son of man, can these bones live?” Ezekiel answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then God commanded him to prophesy to these bones. And he did. As he was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. But there was no breath in them yet. God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy for the second time. So Ezekiel prophesied to the breath, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live!” As he was prophesying, the breath entered into them. They came to life and stood up on their feet as a vast army. From dry bones to great army. That’s revival.

Backslide and Realization

Today’s scripture, Exodus 33, is also one of the best examples of revival in the Bible. There are generally particular steps and stages in revival. Before revival comes, there is a period of spiritual dryness and darkness. You remember how God delivered the Israelites from the captivity of Egypt, but soon after this, they began to grumble and complain. After they arrived at Mount Sinai, they got impatient with Moses and with God. Though they would be happy to enter the Promised Land, they were not willing to wait on the Lord, take the yoke of obedience, and be transformed. So they decided to come up with an alternative religion and made another god – a golden calf. After this, God said to them, “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. I will send an angel before you, but I will not go up among you” (Ex 33:2-3a).

Then, suddenly the Israelites came to their senses. They realized that they had rebelled and turned their backs on God. They realized they had worshiped a false god. They realized they had grieved their God. The first step in revival is, as we see here, a realization of where we are. Are you satisfied with the condition of the Church? Are you satisfied with your own spiritual condition? There is no hope for true prayer and intercession for revival unless we realize that there is a need. Do we realize that we have left our first love for God? We need to have a deep self-awareness of where we are today.

Repentance

We then must go on to the second stage in revival, that is, repentance. After the Israelites heard that God would not go with them, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments (v. 4). They examined themselves. They realized they were far away from God. They realized the seriousness of their sin in God’s sight. They mourned and said, “What must we do?” They took off all their jewelry and turned back to God. That’s repentance.

 

We remember the story of the prodigal son. At first, he thought he was wonderful, he was free, he was in charge until he found himself in that field with the swine. He came to himself. He saw himself as he was and turned back to his father, saying, “Father, I have sinned against God and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.” That’s repentance.

When revival comes, we come to realize that we are “dry bones” and “the slain.” When revival comes, the breath of life enters into us and we come to life, we change our lives, we turn to God. In his book, A faithful narrative of the surprising work of God, Jonathan Edwards shares his own story of revival that he experienced in his town, Northampton, MA, in 1735 this way:

“…the town seemed to be full of the presence of God: it never was so full of love, nor so full of joy; and yet so full of distress, as it was then. There were remarkable tokens of God's presence in almost every house. It was a time of joy in families on the account of salvation's being brought unto them; parents rejoicing over their children as newborn, and husbands over their wives, and wives over their husbands. The goings of God were then seen in his sanctuary, God's day was a delight, and his tabernacles were amiable. Our public assemblies were then beautiful; the congregation was alive in God's service, everyone earnestly intent on the public worship, every hearer eager to drink in the words of the minister as they came from his mouth; the assembly in general were, from time to time, in tears while the word was preached: some weeping with sorrow and distress, others with joy and love, others with pity and concern for the souls of their neighbors.”

Prayer

Realization of the position. Repentance. Then the next step is this step of prayer and intercession. After the Israelites mourned and took off their ornaments, Moses set up a tent outside the camp, called a tent of meeting. He didn’t set up a committee to resolve the issue. Rather, he set up the tent, the meeting tent, where he could go and quietly pray, talking and listening to God. Moses also invited “everyone” who would seek the Lord to go out to the tent, talk things over with him, and then wait for him to inquire of God. Then, we see amazing things happen. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down from heaven and cover the entrance. The visible sign of God’s presence came back, as before. More and more people’s hearts were stirred, and later the whole congregation of Israel responded, rising and worshiping at their tent door. That’s revival – the return of God’s people from their backslidings, and a reawakening of their spiritual fervor and of their first love for God.

Many of us are probably familiar with how the Methodist movement began. It began with the two Wesley brothers and a handful of others. They were dissatisfied with the condition of the Church of England. So they formed what they called the Holy Club, outside the camp. They met together to pray, quietly, unknown, and unofficial. They prayed fervently for spiritual awakening – day by day, week by week. More and more people responded, and eventually the great awakening spread to the entire nation as well as to the church.

Prayer and Revival

As I was meditating on today’s passage, missionary Adoniram Judson came to my mind. His prayer life always motivates me to pray more and deeper. At the age of 25, Judson got a vision from God for mission. He became a first missionary to Myanmar. At that time (in the early 19th century) Myanmar was considered a closed country, similar to North Korea today. No religious toleration. All the previous missionaries had died or left. It took 6 years for him to baptize his first Burmese convert. It also took 12 years to make 18 converts. But, he prayed through, and through, and through for Burmese revival with a handful of his people. Slowly but surely, more peoples’ hearts were stirred. When he died, he left Burmese Bible, 100 churches, and over 8,000 believers. And today Myanmar has the third largest number of Baptists worldwide. Still many Burmese and missionaries remember Judson and celebrate “Judson’s Day” in July. Many others’ religious work and their visions were like footsteps in the sands. They disappeared. But Judson has engraved his work on imperishable granite.

The secret of its endurance is his prayer life. Judson said, “Endeavor seven times a day to withdraw from business and company and lift up your soul to God in private retirement. Begin the day by rising after midnight and devoting some time amid the silence and darkness of the night to this sacred work. Let the hour of opening dawn find you at the same work. Let the hours of 9, 12, 3, 6, and 9 at night witness the same. Be resolute in His cause. Make all practical sacrifices to maintain it. Consider that your time is short and that business and company must not be allowed to rob you of your God.”[1]

It may sound somewhat radical, but the point is that his daily life, his entire life was shaped by prayer. My prayer is that our life too may be shaped by prayer. My prayer is that our church may become a prayer-shaped church – every mission, every ministry, every decision-making, every leadership, every relationship may be shaped by prayer.

Revival is the sovereign work of God. We cannot make it happen. A sailor has no impact on the wind. But a good sailor knows the wind, and knows how to set the sails when the wind blows. We cannot make wind blow, but we can hoist a sail to keep the vessel before the wind. Let us hoist our sails of prayer day after day after day until God sends the wind of revival to our lives and to our church! 

---

[1] E. M. Bounds, Power Through Prayer (p. 24). Christian Classics Remix. Kindle Edition.

“Come, Let Us Return” (Exodus 32:1-6)

Decision Time

The Israelites finally arrives at Mt Sinai. With a mighty hand and an outstretched arm God delivered Israel from Egypt. The Israelites boldly crossed the Red Sea. Then, they went in the wilderness and came to Marah. The water of Marah was bitter. Moses cried out to God, and God turned it into sweet water. Then, they came to Elim, beautiful oasis. Then, they camped at Rephidim. They found no water, so they grumbled and protested with God. So Moses named this place Massah and Meribah – a place of testing and protesting. Then, the Israelites were caught off guard by Amalek. After a miraculous victory, they finally arrived at Mt Sinai. Israel’s journey from Egypt to Sinai took about 50 days.  

Mt Sinai is a very important place for Israel’s journey, because there they received the Ten Commandments – the rule of life for God’s people. “Love God, love others.” “Be holy, as I am holy.” “Be different from other nations. Live as holy, peculiar people.” Decision time has come. Jesus welcomes us and loves us just as we are, but it doesn’t mean that he condones our old ways of life. “If anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons!” (2 Cor 5:17) A new journey begins. Christian journey is a journey of transformation.

 

Unholy Cow

So now the Israelites are at the crossroads – the two paths of life – the path that leads to life (“God’s way”) and the path that leads to destruction and death (“my way”). Unfortunately, they chose their old ways of life. They chose “my way.” While Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments from God, the people were making a golden calf. This golden calf was made in the Egyptian style. The Egyptians worshiped Hathor, who was represented by the head of a cow, Then there was Menwer, the sacred bull of Ra, whose skin was covered with gold.[1] So this gold calf was basically representing the Israelite’s old ways of life. They were going back to their old ways.

I shared earlier that Christian journey is a journey of transformation. If we want to worship and follow one true God, we must change and reorder our lives. It is painful but lifegiving. But if we choose to worship idols, we don’t have to change. We don’t have to reorder anything in our lives. We are still in charge. R. C. Sproul rightly said, “The cow gave no law and demanded no obedience. It had no wrath or justice or holiness to be feared. It was deaf, dumb, and impotent. But at least it could not intrude on their fun and call them to judgment. This was a religion designed by men, practiced by men, and ultimately useless for men.”[2] The Israelites chose the golden calf, a false god, whom they could control and manipulate.

 

God’s Way Vs. My Way

Today’s story was written down for our spiritual benefit. The Bible says, “These things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.’ . . . Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come” (1 Cor 10: 6, 7, 11).

The purpose of the exodus was for God’s people to worship God in the proper way and live worthy of their calling as his holy people. But rather than waiting for God, they decided to come up with an alternative religion, “my way” religion. God said “Do not make a carved image,” but they turned the immeasurable God into a visible and tangible image. God commanded them to worship in appointed times (ex. Sabbath and feasts of the Lord) and appointed locations (ex. Tabernacle and later Jerusalem temple), but they did it their own way. Rather than worshiping God the way he pleased, they did it the way they pleased.

The Israelites were not willing to wait for God. They were impatient. They knew what they wanted, and they wanted it now! They didn’t like “waiting.” They didn’t like the “uncertainty.” God didn’t tell them that they would need to wait for 40 days. God didn’t tell them what would be the next destination. God didn’t give them a big picture, master plan. Instead, they just had to trust and obey God. They just had to follow God’s lead day by day, moment by moment – the pillars of cloud and fire. What they needed was to give him full control. The Israelites didn’t like this new way of life.

Like the Israelites, we too are often tempted to be in control. So we are tempted to be impatient in our wilderness journey. We get impatient for God to heal us or provide for our needs. We get impatient for God to show us the big picture. We get impatient for God to lead us out of the wilderness now. If God doesn’t satisfy our needs, we then make the golden calf instead of waiting and trusting. We do things our own way instead of being formed and shaped and transformed.

 

Law Vs. Grace

Why did the Israelites make and worship a cow? Because they still cherished and loved their old gods, their old ways of life in Egypt. Why do we make a golden calf? Because we love our old ways of life. So when things get difficult, we are tempted to go back to old self. We fall right back into the same old sins. The only remedy for this is to get to the bottom of the problem and put sin to death in the heart.

So how can we be saved? It is not enough to know and recite the Ten Commandments. The Israelites knew God’s law, and it still didn’t save them. They knew they weren’t supposed to make idols or worship other gods. The problem was that they couldn’t keep the Law. What they needed was a Savior. They needed a Savior who would trust God and his timing. They needed a Savior who would do things God’s way rather than his own way. They needed a Savior who would intercede for them and turn their hearts to the Lord. In today’s story Moses was the Israelite’s savior who was trusting, waiting and interceding for them.

So how can we be saved? What we need today is someone like Moses. We need someone to come down and intercede for us. The Good News is that God has given us a mediator. When he saw our sin (constantly making idols), he wanted to save us, so he sent his Son to intercede for our salvation. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3: 16). As Tim Keller rightly said, “Jesus is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people and the Lord and who mediates a new covenant,” that we are to be saved by grace through faith in Christ.

 

Revival

Today’s story, the story of the golden calf, is a devastating story. But after this, revival comes. They return to God, and their spiritual fervor is renewed. Israel’s revival begins with this question: “Who is on the Lord’s side?” (Ex 32:26) When Moses asked this question to the whole congregation of Israel, the people of Levi realized that they were on the wrong side. They realized that they were turning away from God. So they repented and turned back to God. That’s the very first step.

Let us examine ourselves, “Where am I today? Am I on the Lord’s side? Am I on the right path?” If we turned aside, now is the time to return. I don’t know about you, but for me, I get impatient for God to do something and to show something. The other day I prayed, “God, the church is at the crossroads. The church is in crisis. But I don’t know what to do next. I don’t see the way forward.” Then, I realized that I was called to intercede for the church, to get down on my knees and pray for the church members, rather than to do something and show something. So I repented and returned to God, praying for the church with all my heart.

Sisters and brothers in Christ, now is the time. As followers of Jesus Christ, now we are called to pray for the church. Now is the time to pray for revival. Now is the time to pray for the unity in the church. Now is the time to pray for our worship service to be filled with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Now is the time to pray that our church will share the good news of Jesus Christ and become a hope-giving community. Now is the time to pray that we will become disciples and make disciples.

Starting from last week, every Wednesday at 6 pm we gather to pray in person and virtually. Some of us may be offline or not able to come after dark, but wherever we are, I exhort all of us to pray for the church every Wednesday at 6 pm, and every day at your appointed time. If you feel led to join our prayer team, please let me know. We are planning to start a prayer chain. May the Lord rekindle our “first love” for him. 

---

[1] Philip Graham Ryken, Exodus (p. 919). Crossway. Kindle Edition.

[2] Ibid., 925. 

“Yahweh-Nissi” (Exodus 17:8-16)

Facing the Giants

Facing the Giants is a story about a Christian high school football coach who uses his faith to overcome fear and failure. The story begins with a three-game losing streak. Coach Taylor is surrounded and battered by troubles. His home has a leaking roof, his appliances are breaking down, his car is stalled. He also learns that he is the reason that his wife, Brooke, cannot become pregnant. To make things worse, as he passes by the school locker room, he overhears a conversation that some of the students’ parents were trying to force the school to replace him. He suffers intense emotional turmoil and is about to throw in a towel. He stays up all night praying and studying scripture. Finally, his old football coach inspires him to create a new coaching philosophy: “Praising God regardless of game results.” Mr. Bridges, who prays for the students at a school daily, encourages Taylor not to seek someplace new to follow his dreams, but bloom where he is planted. By God’s grace Coach Taylor does stay strong, and stay the course through prayer. At the end of the story, Taylor’s team wins a state championship with his 32 players against the Giants with 85 players. After the game, Taylor reminds all his players that with God all things are possible.

 A Surprise Attack

Today’s story in Exodus 17 begins with the surprise attack by the Amalekites. Israel was caught off guard by Amalek’s sudden attack at Rephidim. They didn’t see it coming. Moses later told his people, “Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and cut off all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God” (Det 25:17-18, NIV). The Israelites did not have much time to prepare for the battle. Within a few hours they had to get its act together and go to the battle.

There are times when we are taken by surprise on our journey. Just like Coach Taylor did, we face challenges all of sudden – so unexpectedly – from health issues, to financial issues, to family issues, to relationship issues, to problems at work. In particular, if you feel like you are facing several challenges at the same time, today’s passage can teach you how to get through these.

Spiritual Battle

When the Israelites were ambushed by the Amalekites, Moses commanded Joshua to choose some men and go out and fight with Amalek. But more importantly, Moses realized that the real battle is not physical, but spiritual. It is not visible, but invisible. So not only did Moses tell Joshua to go and fight, but he himself also went up to the top of the mountain to pray (v. 10). The Bible says, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the power of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph 6:12).

So when the battlefield seems overwhelming and impossible, how can we fight back? How do we engage the enemy? We can win the battle the same way that Moses did: through prayer. In John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress Christian enters the Valley of the Shadow of Death. The valley itself is dark as pitch. He can see nothing. He just keeps hearing scary howling and yelling of beasts in the pit. The pathway is narrow – on the left is a very deep ditch and on the right is a miry slough. There Christian couldn’t use his sword. He had to take up a new weapon called All-Prayer. When he was surrounded by the unseen beasts trying to scare and harm him, he was boldly able to walk through the valley by prayer.

 

The Power of Prayer

In today’s passage whenever Moses raised his hands, Israel was winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, Amalek was winning (v. 11). In other words, the real victory did not depend on Joshua and his weapons. But rather, it did depend on prayer. We may fiercely fight like Josuah, using all our means and resources and weapons. But unless we pray like Moses, we cannot win the battle.

In Moses’ time the common posture of prayer was – standing and lifting their hands to offer their praises and their petitions to God. Overlooking the battlefield, Moses was standing with his arms raised up to God’s throne in prayer – all day long! His prayer posture shows total dependence on God. He was fervently asking for divine intervention. And God did it! The Bible says, “Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the sword” (v. 13). Hudson Taylor rightly said, “When we work, we work. When we pray, God works.”

When we pray, we win the battle. When we do not pray, we start losing the battle. We are captured by Giant Despair and dragged into Doubting Castle. For me personally, this past week my spiritual battle was intense. I felt like I was ambushed by the enemy. I fought back. I fought hard like Joshua – planning, visioning, studying Scripture, visiting, working hard, and so forth. But still my soul felt dry and empty. I was losing my battle. I was quite discouraged. Then, I felt God nudging me to pray like Moses as well as to fight like Joshua. Early next morning I ran to the sanctuary, standing and lifting my hands to God. My grandfather used to pray for three churches – his church, his son’s church, and his daughter’s church. He prayed for each church member and their children by name every morning. I resolved to do the same. I felt joy return. When we pray, we receive strength to love, strength to stand firm, strength to press on.

 

The Power of Corporate Prayer

There is one more point. Moses’ hands grew weary” (v. 12). Today’s passage is not about how wonderful leader Moses was. He had two helpers, companions – Aaron and Hur. They found a stone for Moses to sit on. Then they stood on each side of him, holding up his hands. So his hands remained steady until sunset (v. 12) This is a picture of corporate prayer!

Jesus promised that wherever two or three gather in his name, he is right there with us (Matt 18: 20). But more importantly, we need to commit ourselves to corporate prayer because we know how weak we are. Like Moses, we need someone to help lift up our hands. We need each other. We need to pray for and with other Christians. That is how we win our spiritual battle against the enemies of God and his church. Nehemiah is another example. As he started to rebuild the wall, there was great opposition to the work. The enemies, Sanballat and Tobiah, kept threatening and spreading rumors. How did Nehemiah engage the enemy? He took a tool in one hand and a sword in the other. (“work” + “prayer”) Each of his people did their part. They repaired the section in front of their house and helped each other. They completed the work in a record time (52 days). Again, this is a picture of corporate prayer!

Though God kept nudging me, I kept postponing starting our weekly prayer meeting. But I think now is the time. Every Wednesday at 6 p.m. we will be gathered to pray for each other, pray for our church, and pray for our community and our world. We will meet in person at the Houlton church, but you can also join online via Zoom. Oswald Chambers said, “Prayer does not equip us for some greater works – prayer is the greater work.”

 

Yahweh-Nissi

After the battle with the Amalekites, Moess built an altar and named it, “Yahweh-Nissi” meaning, “The Lord is my banner.” A banner is a military standard, a piece of cloth bearing an army insignia. Soldiers always look to their banner. It helps them know who they are. On the battlefield it also gives them courage and hope. As long as their banner is still flying, they know that the battle is not lost.

I don’t know about you, but for me I feel like there is “always something” rather than “all is well.” This past week, for instance, Hannah got sick first and shared it with Esther. Esther was quite sick last night. I also feel like I am a beginner parent as I raise new two teens in my household. Though it has been a good 10-year journey with you in this church, I feel like I start from the beginning every year. Always something. Always challenges. I don’t see the way forward – as a local church and also our denomination-wide. How about the world around us today? We see political polarization in the US get worse. We see Israeli-Palestinian conflicts escalating. So we get weary and discouraged. But there is good news! Our banner is still flying. Our battle is not lost. Every time there seems to be no way, I say the prayer of Horace Underwood who came to Korea as a missionary on Easter Sunday, April 5, 1885.

Lord, nothing ivisible at this moment.

Lord, you have planted us on this barren and poor land,

where not even a single tree can grow tall enough.

Nothing is visible in this land

on which we seem to have been dropped off by your hand.

Only stubbornly stained darkness can be seen.

Only Korean people chained with poverty and superstition can be seen.

The thoughts of Korean men are not visible.

The mind of this government is not visible.

And we do not see what to do.

Yet, Lord! We will obey.

We believe that you begin your work as we humbly obey,

And that the day will come when our spiritual eyes will see your work,

According to your Words, "Faith is being sure of what we hope for

and certain of what we do not see..."

We believe that we will see the future of the faith of Korea.

Although we are as if standing on a desert with bare hands,

Although we are condemned to be Western devils,

We believe that the day will come

when they will rejoice with tears realizing that they are one with our spirit in Christ,

and that we all have one Kingdom and one Father in Heaven.

Although there is no church to worship you, no school to study,

Although this land is filled with doubt of suspicion, contempt, and disdain,

We believe that in the near future this land will become a land of blessing.

We need a banner to look to. We need a song to sing. We need a slogan to chant. Christ is the banner to look to. Christ is the song to sing. Christ is the motto to follow. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12:2, NIV) Friends, comrades, soldiers of Christ, let us keep our eyes on Jesus, never stop singing praises to him, and follow him to the end.

 

“The Rock Was Christ” (Exodus 17:1-7)

SOS

The whole Bible points us to Jesus Christ. The Old Testament (the law) shows our sins; the New Testament (the gospel) shows our savior. 

Even in the story of Exodus we see Jesus everywhere. We see Jesus in Moses’ birth – the baby in the basket, the baby in the manger who was born to be the savior. We see Jesus at the burning bush, where Moses met the Great I Am. We see Jesus at the Red Sea, where the Israelites crossed and were baptized from death to life. We see Jesus, when Israel received manna, the bread from heaven, every morning in the wilderness. We see Jesus in the pillars of cloud and fire. And in today’s passage we also see Jesus, when Moses struck his staff, and water flowed from the rock. Everyone quenched their thirst. The Apostle Paul explains the spiritual meaning of this event as follows: “All of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ.” (1 Cor 10:3-4, NLT) Jesus, God’s fountain, traveled with his people wherever they were. He fed them, guided them, protected them, and he was with them always.

Rephidim, Resting Place??

Today’s story goes like this. Directly by God, the Israelites moved from place to place in the wilderness. Eventually they camped at Rephidim. Rephidim means “resting place.” This place was known as an oasis. But there was no water for them to drink. They were greatly disappointed. Why did God direct his people to this wasteland? To make them holy, God led them away from a self-sufficient place (“Egypt”) to a God-dependent place (“wilderness”) – where there was nothing to drink.

In Exodus 15 the Israelites already had a very similar experience when they reached the bitter waters of Marah. By now they should have known how to handle this kind of situation. But still, in Exodus 17, it doesn’t seem they have learned the lesson. They should have prayed and pressed on (P & P). They should have prayed and then patiently waited for God to provide (P & W). Instead, they complained and grumbled (C & G). They found fault with Moses. They protested with Moses. Ultimately, they blamed God.

The Complaint

They made three complaints to Moses. First they said, “Give us water to drink” (v. 2). They demanded God’s provision on their own terms. They insisted on having their own way instead of praying for it or waiting for it. The second thing they said was, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” (v. 3) Here they were denying God’s protection. They concluded that God had abandoned them. They were accusing God of trying to harm them. Third they said, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (v. 7) They were doubting God’s presence. It reveals their untrusting hearts. It’s like asking a mother while she is in the kitchen working hard to get the family’s meal ready, “Are we going to have any dinner tonight?” It is an insult.

God fed the Israelites manna every day without fail, but they complained about God’s provision. God departed the Red Sea and delivered them from the Egyptians, but they complained about God’s protection. God was with them and went before them in the pillars of cloud and fire, but they complained about God’s presence. How often we make the same complaints ourselves! When things go wrong, when life does not meet our expectations, we are quick to complain against God and demand some kind of explanation.

 

The Trial at Massah-Meribah

In today’s scripture not only were the Israelites complaining against God, but also they were actually bringing God to trial. Moses called this place Massah and Meribah instead of Rephidim.  Both Massah and Meribah are legal terms. Massah means “to test.” Meribah means “to quarrel, to protest, or to contend.” They charged God with neglecting to provide for them, refusing to protect them, and failing to be present with them. Here not only were they rushing to reach a verdict, but also they were prepared to carry out the sentence. They were about to stone Moses, God’s representative, to death.

In the play called The Sign of Jonah a group of people put God on trial. They wanted to know who was responsible for the Holocaust— the destruction of millions of Jews and others in the Nazi concentration camps. Who was to blame?

In the play God is accused, prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced. What is the sentence? The characters decide that God must “become a human being, a wanderer on earth, deprived of his rights, homeless, hungry, thirsty. He himself shall die. And lose a son, and suffer the agonies of fatherhood. And when at last he dies, he shall be disgraced and ridiculed.” That is exactly what happened to Jesus. God sent his Son into the world, and people did to him what the Israelites wanted to do with Moses. The Son of God was homeless. He was hungry and thirsty. He was stripped, mocked, beaten, and then condemned to die the most shameful death— death on a cross.[1]

 

Christ the Rock

In today’s passage what was God’s response to this rebellious Israel? He said to Moses, “Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink” (v. 6). In other words, not the people of Israel; but instead, Christ was struck with divine judgment. That rock was Christ.

When the people of Israel made God’s temple a marketplace, Jesus cleansed the temple, driving the sheep out of the temple and overturning merchants’ tables. The Jews protested, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus replied, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Here Jesus was speaking of the temple of his body (John 2:21). This is what happened to him on the cross. Christ was bearing the curse for our sin, so God struck him with the rod of his justice. The Bible says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5, NIV).

Today we may have many unanswered questions. We may feel like we have been abandoned. We may feel stuck. We may feel dry, thirsty, and distant from God. Let us not harden our hearts. Instead, come to Christ the Rock of our salvation with a trusting heart. Look to Jesus until all doubts, all complaints melt away. Then, streams of living water will flow from our hearts. And no matter what our circumstances are, we will rejoice and be satisfied in him – his provision, his protection, and his presence.

---

[1] Philip Graham Ryken, Exodus (ESV Edition) (p. 419). Crossway. Kindle Edition.