Exodus Chapter 34 Verse 11

• You know what the cool thing is about that? Moses doesn’t even know these nations yet. He hasn’t encountered them yet. But God says to him, “I’m going to do awesome things in your life. The enemies you don’t even know you have, I’m going to deal with them. The land that you have no knowledge of yet, I’m going to give it to you. All I need you to do is observe what I command you THIS day…”
• Why is that? Because to overtake these places and people, to lead this nation, to care for them and to govern them well…none of those things can you do by yourself…but all of those things you can do with great success and wonder if you follow Me.

Exodus Chapter 34 Verses 12 – 14

• The altars, pillars and wooden images of the world are entirely enticing but don’t join yourself to them…God calls them a “snare” which is the Hebrew word for “bait,” because in the midst of that bait is a hook and attached to that hook is a line and on the other end of that line is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour…
• God’s instruction to Moses is destroy them, break them and cut them down. Destroy in the Hebrew is literally means to break them down…two ways to look at that…first, understand how it works, don’t be taken with the draw of the bait, but understand the hook…and second, just like a broken down car, make it so it doesn’t run in your life, doesn’t work on you. You’re awake to what the altars of the enemy do to you and yours…
• God says break them…the word can be translated quench…when the temptation arises in you and the flesh is agitated and excited, grow stronger in the spirit so that you can squelch the flesh. And God says to cut them down…the word means to fail them. Sin has such a high hope and expectation to rip you off but instead of failing yourself, your family and your Savior, you fail the sin. Disappoint it…
• God so mightily prepares us…why? Because it says here that His name is What does that mean? Not that He has emotional low self-esteem, weak self-assuredness and unfaithfulness hidden in His own heart…that’s why people are jealous…no, God is not all together like us…but His jealousy is not self-centered but rather others-centered…me-centered…because He so wants the best for me that He is jealous for me. He is not jealous for what I have, He jealous for what He has for me!
• There’s a great article on org on the jealousy of God and I’d like to give you a small snippet of that discussion…, “Jealousy is a sin when it is a desire for something that does not belong to you,” (or when the flesh is a part of the equation – my addition). “Worship, praise, honor and adoration belong to God alone, for only He is truly worthy of it. Therefore, God is rightly jealous (not in a fleshly way but in a longing way, in a grieving way) when worship, praise, honor, obedience or adoration is given to idols…” Why? Because He loves you and knows that giving all or any of that to any dumb idol will leave you empty…

Exodus Chapter 34 Verses 15 – 16

• There it is…there’s the danger of not seeing the hook for the bait…you end up with that false life-sucking idol as your It begins to identify you…you end up devoured by the fishing lion…and you even have little flesh kids running around your house tearing everything up all the time! Little Ishmaels in your life!
• Now what God does for Moses is basically He reaffirms His covenant with him and the nation of Israel.

Exodus Chapter 34 Verses 17 – 20

• Notice, all of the firstborn must be redeemed and if they are not redeemed by the blood of the lamb, then they perish. It is the same with the natural man, the first man…my first nature, if you will. We must be born again by the blood of the lamb or the simple fact and truth is, there is death.
• And I love this…none shall come/appear before the Lord empty handed. So, what’s my play, what’s my required offering…my entire life. I am to give my life to God through Jesus Christ…that is the transaction of salvation. He provides the redemption, I provide the broken life.

Exodus Chapter 34 Verses 21 – 28

• Please do not embark on the “Moses fast,” you will die. HA. Obviously, God miraculously sustained him for these 40 days and 40 nights.

Exodus Chapter 34 Verse 29

• A people who had never seen electricity, never a light bulb, never a source of light other than fire or the sun…and here Moses is and his face is shining! The word in the Hebrew is literally to send out rays and to show forth power. Ladies and gentlemen listen, no makeup or plastic surgery or face alteration or tanning spray, nothing…nothing makes your face shine with radiance more than simply when you have been near to the Lord.
• Moses didn’t even know he was glowing…others did. And that is true of you as well…You don’t matter so much to you…Moses isn’t focused on himself…He is focused on the Lord…carrying even in his arms the handwriting of God. But others notice. “Moses, there’s something different about you! You’re like, glowing, man!” It is the same with any of us…close connection and fellowship and trust in the Lord physically affected Moses and it will you also.

Exodus Chapter 34 Verses 30 – 35

• A couple things to note here as we close. First, I like this principle that nothing is veiled before the Lord. I worry so much about how others perceive me and I’m constantly adjusting my appearance and interpersonal expressions to create a situation that is joyful, peaceful and profitable…but with the Lord…man I’m just undone and there is such a peace there. Especially because I know that with Him there is always joy, peace and profit no matter what state I come to Him in…
• Second, we are told in 2 Corinthians 3:13 that the face of Moses although had shined brightly when he returned from the mountain, it began to fade…and he kept the veil on his face at first to comfort the people but as his face faded, the veil stayed to that the people wouldn’t know about the fade. Being close to the Lord today is not enough for tomorrow…I need and you need to daily go to God, to be refilled, refreshed, refueled, because if we don’t, Hebrews 2:1 tells us…we will drift. That is why church is so important, fellowship is so important, daily prayer and time in the Word is so important and daily trust/obedience to God is so important…because like the face of Moses, we will fade.
• Better to stay sharp, stay hot, stay fully fueled!!! Take a hot coal out the fire and after a while it will cool. It is the same with us. You have started well…it is the goal to end well…but the path to that victory is to stay well.