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The people one is working with basically determine what can happen in any situation. For example, a quality teacher with quality skills and quality information may do wonders in one congregation and absolutely nothing in another. Why? A congregation that is highly motivated and desires guidance responds readily to good teaching and good information that is presented well. However, a congregation that has little background, deep contentment with the way things always have been, who has neither goals nor desires, and does not wish to be guided anywhere will actually resist good teaching and good information that is well presented. The problem does not lie in the teacher, the presentation, or the material, but in those who are recipients of the material. One congregation of people wishes to understand and grow; one does not.
We commonly make an assumption regarding Israel that betrays us when we reach conclusions about Gods work. We assume that the Old Testament people known as Israel were very moral, highly motivated people with a deep knowledge of and appreciation for God. We look at them as being basically spiritual.
A simplified version of Gods effort/plan to deliver people from the spiritual slavery of sin and its consequences was this: work through a man who had a deep trust of God to produce a nation. (The man was Abraham and the nation was Israel.) Work through that nation to produce a Savior for all people. (Again, the nation was Israel, and the Savior was Jesus.) Through this Savior provide all people with access to God through what God did through Jesus. By this access, provide all who would enter Christ hope as a result of forgiveness.
While God had much to work with in Abraham, He had little to work with in the Old Testament people known as Israel. They spent generations as slaves in Egypt with the primary spiritual influence of many forms of idolatry. Consider the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:1-17. Verses 2-11 involve four basic commands that discuss their relationship with God. Verses 12-17 involve six basic commands that discuss their relationship with each other. Why? They did not know how to correctly relate to the holy God, and they did not know how to correctly relate to each other. These commands were given because of their ignorance, not because of their agreement.
These commandments did NOT represent the way they had been behaving, but how they should behave. Evidence? God performed ten incredible miracles to secure their release from Egypt, and the people were relieved and gladuntil they saw the Egyptian army chasing them. When the Egyptian army came near, they immediately forgot about Gods deliverance. They reacted as fearful slaves instead of freed people. Read Exodus 14:10-12. The people cried. They asked Moses if there were no graves in Egypt. Their predicament was Moses fault! We (Israel) told you (Moses) all along to leave us alonesee Exodus 5:15-21.
They crossed the Red Sea, and they were jubilantGod was the greatest! (See Exodus 15:1-18.) Then came their travel in the wilderness of Sin, and they said they wished God had killed them in Egypt where they had plenty to eat. God provided them with quail and manna. Then they came to Rephidim where they had no water, and they said they would die of thirst. God provided them with water. Finally they were posed to enter Canaan (Numbers 13, 14). They wept, grumbled, and said life in Egypt was better than what was ahead.
Never did the generation that left Egypt as adults trust the God that delivered them. Throughout their Old Testament history, there were far more occasions of national distrust than trust. Truly, God had little to work withand they were the better of the nations that existed! Read Deuteronomy 7:6-11, 8:15-20, or 9:4-6 lately?)
In our text today, Hebrews 12:18-29, the Jewish Mount Sinai is compared to the Christian Mount Zion. The fear of control is compared to the power of encouragement. Is it because God changed? No! At first the same God worked with an out of control people. He used the fear (terror) of the untouchable, fire, darkness, gloom, tornado, and an endless trumpet blast in an attempt to control them. Israel was so filled with dread and trembling that all they saw was that closeness to God brought the horrible. The Christian comes to encouraging conquerors, to a God who has blessed, and to a wonderful mediator. They are a people who come in faith, not dread.
Has mankind tamed God and made God gentle and harmless? No! It is the contrast between being a people who needed to be controlled and being a people who want to be righteous. It is the contrast between being afraid to sin and not wanting to sin. It is the contrast of being good because of immediate physical necessity and a desire to be righteous now and eternally. It is the contrast between those who value physical well being and those who value eternal well being.
Never underestimate the horror of the consequences of defying God, but never underestimate what God did for people in Jesus! Only because of Jesus do we dare approach God!
For Thought and Discussion
1. Explain how the people one works with can determine the outcome of a situation.
2. What assumption do we often make about Old Testament Israel that betrays us?
3. Give a simplified version of Gods effort/plan to deliver people from sin.
4. Contrast Gods work with Abraham (the person) and Gods work with Israel (the nation).
5. What did the first 4 of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:2-11 discuss?
6. What did the last 6 of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:12-17 discuss?
7. Why were those two discussions in the Exodus 20 Ten Commandments?
8. Illustrate early Israels failure to trust God with the Egyptian army, the Red Sea, and the wilderness of Sin.
9. What does Deuteronomy 7:6-11, 8:15-20 and 9:4-6 say about Israel?
10. In Hebrews 12:18-29, discuss the contrast between Mount Sinai and Mount Zion.
Link to Teacher's Guide
Lesson 13
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