Exodus 19-20
Motivations to obey
Introduction:
On the screen there’s should be a quote by a man who’s surname I won’t even attempt to say. We’ll just call him Francois. And I don’t know anything about him. But I came across his quote and I think he’s got a good point. This is what he says:
“We would frequently be ashamed of our good deeds if people saw all of the motives that produced them.”
I think that’s probably true. We might do many deeds that appear good on the outside. But if people could see our motives, well then we might be ashamed.
In fact according to Tim Keller, this is one of the marks of a true Christian. Its that we learn to repent not just for the things we do that are wrong, but also for reasons why we do things that are right.
So we might say a very spiritual sounding prayer in church. But all we thinking about is how we can impress those around us.
Or We might go and visit a suffering friend and show them lots of concern. But all we actually thinking about is our reputation as a kind and compassionate person.
Or we might give lots of money to the poor. But we only doing it to feel good about ourselves.
The list goes on and one. I’m sure I’m not the only one with shameful and selfish motives.
And so Hebrews chapter 4verse 13 is a startling verse.
The thoughts and attitudes of the heart are not hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to Whom we must give an account.
You see God knows our hearts. And He isn’t just concerned about our outward deeds. He’s concerned about the motives and attitudes of our hearts.
Motives matter before God.
And that’s whatwe gona be talking about this morning: the motives for our good deeds.
But let me just remind you of where we are in the book of Exodus. We picking it up again after a short break. And this morning we come to the 2nd half of the book. If the first half of the book was all about salvation out of slavery in Egypt, the 2nd half of the book is all about worship.
And if you remember this was the purpose right from the beginning. When God met Moses back in chapter 3. In verse 12 He says: when you have brought the people out of Egypt you will worship God on this mountain.
And then when Moses goes to Pharoah in chapter 8 verse 1 he says to him, “This is what the LORD says: Let my people go…” Why? “…so that they may worship me. “
In other words God hasn’t just saved Israel so that they wont be slaves anymore. No, he’s saved them for a purpose. He’s saved them so that they will worship Him.
And the same is true for us as Christians. We haven’t just been saved from something. We’ve also been saved for something. We’ve been saved in order to worship God.
And for many people when they hear the word worship they immediately think singing. But that’s not what we talking about here.
When Israel arrive at this mountain in chapter 19, there isn’t a band and a music leader getting ready to lead them in song. No there’s God. And He’s speaking words to the people. And He’s giving them the ten commandments and lots of detailed laws about how to live as His people.
That’s what Biblical worship is all about. Its about living in day to day obedience to God’s commands.
And so that’s what we gona be looking at over the next few weeks.
But this morning we just gona focus on the motivation for these commands. Its possible for us to obey all these 10 commandments and all these laws. But we might still be displeasing to God. Because we doing them with wrong motives. And so this morning I want us to look at the motives God gives for His people to obey.
Two Biblical motives to obey God’s law.
Firstly, we obey God not to save ourselves, but in order to be His treasured possession (v3-8)
Secondly, we obey God out of a fear for Who He is (v9-25)
So firstly we obey God in order to be His treasured possession. And you can see that in verse 5.
“Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’
Now in order to avoid misunderstanding we need to be clear on what this verse isnt saying.This isnt saying that the way to be accepted by God is by obeying His commands. It almost sounds like that: if you obey me, you’ll be accepted.
But that’s not what it’s saying. And you can see that if you look at what comes before. Just look at verse 4. Notice what God’s already done for Israel. Verse 4. God speaking to the people: He says:
‘you yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey you’ll be my treasured possession.”
And so you see, before God tells His people to obey, He first reminds them of what He’s done. He’s rescued them from Egypt. He’s carried them on eagle’s wings.
And obviously that’s not literal. In case you missed it, Israel walked out of Egypt. But figuratively they were carried. like a mother eagle would carry her baby chicks. Israel have been carried by God. They didn’t have to do anything. God destroyed the Egyptians. God opened the red sea. God provided the bread and the water. It’s as if they’ve been carried by God.
And dyou notice where He’s carried them to? They haven’t just been carried outof Egypt. They haven’t just been brought toMount Sinai. No. Look verse 4
“I have carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself.”
And so you see, God’s already established this relationship. He’s already saved Israel. He’s already brought them to Himself.
And that’s the context in which they must obey.
You can see the same thing in chapter 20. Right at the start of the 10 commandments. Did you know the 10 commandments don’t actually start with the first command? Just look at chapter 20. The first command only comes in verse 3. Before that comes verse 2. What does God say in verse 2?
“I am the LORD your God, Who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
That’s the reason… why
“youmustn’t have any other gods before me.”
Why You mustn’t make idols.
Why you mustn’t misuse my name
It’s all because of what I’ve done for you.
And so its very important that we get this clear.
Maybe you always thought Christianity was about rules. Obeying the 10 commandments, living a good life, being a good religious person. That’s how we get accepted by God. But now you see that’s wrong. Christianity’s about what God has done for us. And our obedience is our response to what He’s done.
Or maybe you thought this was only a New Testament teaching.in the New Testament we get salvation by grace.
But in the Old Testaments we hadsalvation by works and obedience to God’s law in order to be accepted.
Well here we see No. Right from the beginning.Throughout the Bible God’s always saved His people by grace. And obedience is our response.
And so lets come back to chapter 19 verse 5. If you obey me you’ll be my treasured possession.
We’ve seen what it doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean we obey God to get accepted.
So then Whatdoes it mean?
Well let me use an illustration.
When my wife and I got married it was a pretty fast process. We first met at the end of January 2007. We got to know each other. By April We were head over heels in love. We started dating in May. We got engaged in July. And By January the next year we were married. (less than a year after we first met).
And because this process happened so quickly, the first few years of our marriage had a few awkward moments.
You see even though I loved Jenna there were many ways in which I still didn’t know her. I needed to learn that roast beef might bemy favourite meal. But Jenna prefers roast lamb.
A good war movie might keep me on the edge of my seat. But Jen would prefer a true life drama.
I might love a night out with lots of friends. Jenna would prefer a quiet evening at home.
And so these are the things I’ve had to learn.
And now after 9 years of marriage, ifI wanna spoil jenna for her birthday.
I might put lots of effort in.
I might invite lots of friends to come round for the evening.
I might spend lots of money on a roast beef fillet.
I might rent Hacksaw Ridge for us to watch together. And by the end of the evening how would Jenna feel... will be offended. She will not feel loved.
Even though I’ve put in all this effort. I’ve completely ignored what she likes.
And this is true in every relationship. You might be in a loving relationship with someone. You might have fallen in lovewith a person. But you still need to learn how to show your love.
And that’s really what the 10 commandments are all about. God’s rescued His people. He’s brought them into this relationship. And now He tells them what He likes.
If you wanna be my treasured possession…
If you wanna bring me pleasure and joy so that when I look at you I look at you with delight, then these are the things you need to do.
And so that’s the first motivation we see in this passage. Don’t obey God in order save yourself. That’s not a good motivation. That won’t please God. But if you someone who’s already saved, then it’s a good thing to know His commands so that you can please Him and bring Him delight
And this isn’t just an Old Testament motivation. we see the same thing in the NT.
In John chapter 15 verse 9 Jesus says: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
How can we do that?
If you obey my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my father’s commands and remain in His love.
You see in one sense God already loves us. He’s saved us. He’s forgiven us. He’s adopted us as His children. There’s nothing that can separate us from His love. But at the same time He calls us to remain in His love. To walk in an intimate relationship with Him where we please and we bring Him delight. And the way that we do that is by obeying His commands.
Now the culture will tell us that God’s commands are restrictive. That they’ll enslave you and burden you and removeyour joy.
But not according to Jesus. Look at the next verse. Verse 11.
“I have told you this so that my joy may in you and that your joy may be complete.”
You see for the true believer it’s a great joy and privilege to be able to please God.
Listen to this quote from Don Carson.
“The joy Jesus promises isn’t something cheap that depends on outward circumstances. [Rather] It is the deep delight of the godly person who rejoices in the law of the Lord, whose greatest happiness comes from whole-hearted obedience.
Every Christian who has travelled any distance in his Christian journey knows that this is true. His deepest joy comes from those times in his life when he obeys Christ with unrestricted commitment. When he faces some difficult decision in his life, and he rejects all the compromised and dangerous options and remains completely devoted to the highest path for Jesus’ sake. Then he experiences a joy that leaves him speechless.”
And so this is the first good motivation to please God. We obey him because of what He’s done for us. We love him. We wanna please Him. We wanna be His treasured possession.
Now secondly, we obey God out of fear for Who He is.
And maybe that sounds wrong to you.
How can that be a good motivation? To obey God out of fear.
I mean normally we see fear is something negative. Its something we try and avoid.
Its something we try and drive out of our kids. I dunno if its only my kids, but they seem to have such irrational fears. Fear of the dark. There’s fear of monsters.
At the moment our little girl’s got a fear of toilets. She freaks out if she has to go to any toilet other than the one at our house.
And there all kinds of other irrational fears. You can go find them on the internet.
One I came across recently was trypophobia - Fear of little bumps or holes. So justthe sight of a beehive or something with little holes.That alone can make someone terrified if they’ve got trypophobia.
Another one I heard of Arachibutyrophobia -Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth.
I suppose that is an uncomfortable feeling.
But we’d all agree, these are Irrational fears.
They the kind of things you need to see a psychologist about.
And maybe that’s how you feel about the fear of God. I mean isn’t God good? Isn’t He loving?Isn’t Hewise.Surely it’s irrational to fear such a God.
And yet throughout the Bible, this is a phrase that keeps coming up.In the OT and in the NT.Over and over again we called to fear God.
And the way many people try and explain this is by limiting the meaning of the word. They say it actually only refers toreverence or respect.
But this morning I wanna suggest that its more than that. The fear of God is real fear: It’s trembling. It’s being scared. It’s being afraid of God. According to these verses that seems to be a good attitude for us to try and cultivate in our hearts. And even for us to use that as a motivation to obey. Just look at these verses. Notice how God makes His people afraid. You can see it firstly in the warnings that He gives them.
In verse 9 God tells Moses: I’m gona come down on the mountain. And the people must get ready. They must consecrate themselves. They must wash their clothes. They must abstain from sexual relationships. But the most frightening warning is in verse 12. Look at verse 12.
“Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, “be careful that you do not go up the mountain or (even) touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. He shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on him. Whether man or animal, he shall not be permitted to live.”
And so that’s a pretty scary warning. God’s so holy that when He comes down on the mountain. You can’t even touch the foot of it. Or else you must die.
And so Moses goes down and warns the people. And in verse 16 it gets even more scary.
As God’s about to come down on the mountain there’s thunder. There’s lightning. There’s a thick cloud over the mountain. There’s a very loud trumpet blast.
This is just the introduction to God’s appearance. But notice the effect it has on the people. The end of verse 16. Everyone in the camp trembled.
This isn’t just the weak-hearted children who are scared. This includes the bravest warrior. It includes Moses himself. Everyone is trembling with fear.
And its not just the people who are trembling. Notice what happens in verse 18 when God finally descends.
“Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently.”
And so the appearance of God is so scary that its not only the people who tremble. Even even the mountain starts to tremble violently.
And just in case we haven’t got the point. Moses goes up the mountain in verse 20. And what’s the first thing God says to him in verse 21. He says: Go down the mountain again and warn the people again. You mustn’t touch the mountain otherwise you will perish.
And so I think its very clear. God wants His people to be afraid. And its not just reverence or a respect. You don’t tremble with respect for someone. No this is more. This is real fear. It’s shaking because you so scared. Not because God’s evil. Not because He wants to destroy people. We’ve already seen His love for His people. But its because He’s a pure and a holy and a mighty God. And He’s completely set apart from sinners like us
But the crucial question is why does God want His people to be afraid.And you can see the answer in chapter 20 verse 18.
You’ve got the 10 commandments in verses 1-17. And then after the 10 commandments we come back to this theme of the fear of God. Look at chapter 20 verse 18. Notice how the people respond.
“when the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.