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| Lecture 29 : [Moses and Jesus 3] The Second National Course to Restore Canaan (Moses) | |
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| Date created : 2015-03-25/ Views : 1141 | |
Moses and Jesus in the Providence of Restoration: Part 3
Lecture 29: The Second National Course to Restore Canaan (Moses)
Welcome to the path to happiness. I’m your host, Dr. Tyler Hendricks.
In the last session we saw that the principles of restoration take a different shape when on a national course, compared to the individual or family course. And today we are on a world-level course, so God’s path to happiness is very challenging. But we will see that Moses and Jesus made a foundation for God to work through the second coming in our age, and so we have tremendous hope.
As a stepping stone to understand what we can do today, let’s learn more about Moses’ course on the national level.
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As I said in the previous lecture, Moses 40 years in the palace led to his failed attempt to win the Hebrews to his side. In danger now, he fled to the Midian wilderness with no progress toward making a foundation to receive the Messiah.
For this reason, he had to invest another 40 years to restore anew the foundation of the faith, and this was his 40 years in the Midian wilderness.
This began Moses’ second national course to restore Canaan.
While he was in the Midian wilderness, living as a shepherd, he married Zipporah, a daughter of Jethro, and had a son Gershom.
After 40 years, God called Moses in Mt. Horeb.
In Exodus 3, we view the first scene of Moses meeting with God.
God appeared before Moses in a burning bush and called him to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.
From Exodus 3:7, God said,
“I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; I know their suffering, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey. . . Come, I will send you to Pharaoh so that you may bring forth my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.
At first, Moses was afraid of the calling. He made excuses saying he didn’t know how to tell the people, who sent him, how to show authority and power, and that he was not a good speaker.
And God said, “I am that I am, tell them that I am sent you. I am the one who secures the future, The LORD, God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” and He showed Moses three signs that he could use. (Exod 3-4)
1. God commanded Moses to cast down his staff, and it became a serpent. He commanded him to take it by the tail and it turned back into a staff in his hand.
2. God commanded him to put his hand into his bosom and it became leprous. God commanded him to put his hand into his bosom a second time and it was healed.
3. God instructed Moses to pour water from the Nile on the ground and it would turn to blood.
These all represent the Messiah and his bride engrafting us into God’s love.
Also when Moses made the excuse that he was not eloquent, God scolded him, saying, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite?” At that moment, Aaron appeared, having been walking many days to meet Moses, and God told Moses that Aaron could speak on his behalf.
Moreover, God blessed Moses with even greater power. He said, ‘It will be as if you were God to Aaron. You will take this staff in your hand and perform the signs with it.’ (Exod 4:16-17)
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Moses was encouraged by God, and returned to Egypt with his wife Zipporah and son Gershom to Egypt to liberate the Israelites as God’s commanded.
There was a providential incident on their return.
The Lord suddenly tried to kill Moses.
But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and threw it in front of Moses. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. This saved Moses’ life. (Exod 4:24-26)
This was the ceremony for a new start, through removing the blood of Satan in circumcision. Furthermore, God identified the Israelites as the chosen nation through circumcision, and when the Pharaoh resisted Moses, He killed the first sons in Egypt who has not been circumcised.
Moses and his family also reversed Adam and Eve’ betrayal of God at the risk of their lives, by keeping the faith even when the Lord was trying to kill him.
Thus, living by God’s Will in Midian wilderness for 40 years, Moses rebuilt a dispensation of forty for the separation of Satan and fulfilled the foundation of the faith.
Through the victory in the wilderness, Moses secured the position of Abel for the national level foundation of substance—to remove the fallen nature from the entire nation.
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So God gave Moses threes signs to convince the Pharaoh to let Israel go, and ten plagues if necessary to prevail.
After Moses returned to Egypt and he and Aaron brought the Israelites finally to believe him.
On this foundation, he met the Pharaoh.
When he asked the Pharaoh for permission to leave to the wilderness for three days to worship God, the Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” (Exod 5:2) And he afflicted and exploited them even harder.
For this reason, the Israelites said they were more afflicted because of Moses, and murmured against him.
And Moses got frustrated and tormented.
God appeared before him. He consoled and commanded him again.
At this time, Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty-three years old. It was in BC 1446.
Moses and Aaron met the Pharaoh and his priests.
A war of the gods ensued, the ‘the ten plagues’ war between Egyptian gods and the Lord God, for the ownership of Israel.
The ten plagues are as follows:
First, the water of the Nile River and water resources turned into blood. Second, frogs came and overran Egypt. Third, fleas tormented people and their animals. Fourth, swarms of flies devastated the land of Egypt. Fifth, all of the Egyptian livestock was exterminated. Sixth, boils infected all of the Egyptian men and livestock. Seventh, a destructive storm of hail heavily damaged crops and killed Egyptians and their livestock. Eighth, swarms of locusts consumed all the remaining crops. Ninth, total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. Tenth, every firstborn of Egyptian livestock and sons died.
The Pharaoh’s magicians counteracted the first and second plagues, but from the third plague, they couldn’t. And from the sixth plague, they couldn’t even stand before Moses because of the boils.
The Pharaoh finally started to relent after the seventh plague.
But each time, he again hardened his heart and didn’t let the Israelites go. Finally the most extraordinary and tragic plague came.
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God had the Israelites prepare to depart, and then had each family choose a one-year-old male sheep or goat. He had them take care of the animal until the fourteenth day of the month, then slaughter it at twilight and strike the two side posts and the upper door post of their house. That same night they were to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. (Exod 12:5-8)
On that night came the final plague: “God struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well.” But the angel of death passed over the houses with the blood on the doors. This is the origin of the Jewish feast of the Passover. Then the Israelites finally believed Moses.
By the Israelites faith that Moses was sent by God as their leader, they laid the national foundation of faith. Hence, they could embark upon the exodus from Egypt.
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God’s plan was for a twenty-one month passage through the wilderness, during which they would be faithful and obedient to Moses.
After a three-day journey, they arrived to their first campsite at Succoth. From that time forth, God granted them the grace of a pillar of cloud by day, which covered the burning sunlight, and a pillar of fire by night, which lighted their way in the darkness.
These two pillars symbolized the coming Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
On the shore of the Red Sea, Moses stretched out his staff and parted the waters so the Israelites could cross on dry ground. The Egyptians soldiers pursuing them drowned.
This meant that Jesus is the dividing line between life and death.
The Israelites, who numbered some 600,000 men plus women and children, departed from Rameses on the fifteenth day, crossed the Red Sea and arrived at the wilderness of Sin through Marah and Elim in a month.
From then God fed them with manna and quail.
Manna looked like coriander seed, and its color was yellow. It was tasty and they could cook it in various ways.
The manna and quail foreshadowed Jesus, who would save us through his flesh and blood.
Then the Israelites camped at Rephidim, where Moses struck the rock at Horeb and it brought forth water for them.
The miracle of water from the rock foreshadowed that the Messiah would save us with the water of life.
They fought with the Amalekites at Rephidim.
Whenever Moses held up his hands, the Israelites prevailed; whenever Moses let his hands drop, they suffered a reverse.
To guarantee victory, Aaron and Hur stood at this left and right, holding up his arms.
Aaron and Hur symbolized Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
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We can see that God was always with the Israelites as the author of salvation.
He had them cross the Red Sea, led them with pillars of cloud and fire, granted them manna, quail, and the water, and helped them defeat the Amalekites.
God appears in human history and performs the work of redemption.
The national course to the Promised Land, led by Moses, has many more incidents teaching us lessons that are essential on our challenging journey. It is a testimony to the living God, who works through our faith, unity and love, centered on the person that God chooses for the age we are in. Who is the Moses of this age? Will he have to go through a wilderness course? Would you want to be among the chosen people to follow him out of Egypt, to restore a new nation?
We will continue our summary of Moses’ course and the restoration of a nation, in our next session. Let us all have ears to hear. Thank you so much for listening.
