Devotion for Wednesday after Trinity Sunday, 22 June 2011, Anno Domini

Devotion for Wednesday after Trinity Sunday, 22 June 2011, Anno Domini
“35This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush. 36He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years.37 This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:39 To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt, 40Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.42 Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?43 Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon. 44Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.45 Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David;46 Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob. 47But Solomon built him an house.48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,49 Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?50 Hath not my hand made all these things?51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. 52Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.(Acts 7:35-53)
“This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush.” Man most generally rejects the very men whom God sends for their benefit and comfort. They rejected, too, Moses, but Moses was chosen by God as the instrument of their freedom.
“He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years.” When God acts with great Might, such actions are evidenced by marvelous events of unimaginable magnitude. God sent the Pillar of Smoke by day as a guide and a cover for the Children of Israel. He made it into a Pillar of Fire by Night so that His presence would be known with them. He parted the waters of the Red Sea for their salvation, and closed the waters again to the destruction of Pharaoh’s Army. He sent Manna in the Wilderness, and made water to flow from the cleft Rock; and, yet, they grumbled and doubted all the way.
“This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.” Yes, the true Children would truly hear Christ, but not these belligerent fools of the Sanhedrin!
“This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us: To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt.” Yes, this Old Testament Church in the Wilderness rebelled against Moses and those of Stephen’s time would rebel against Christ and turn to the depraved and unwholesome traditions of men and not God.
“Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.” The people seek after gods made after the imaginations of their own evil hearts. Moses was not their God, but the moment that they have freedom to turn back to the wallowing in the mud of Egypt, they attempt to take it. “And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.” God had demonstrated abundantly His power and love for them yet they turn back to the work of their own hands as if this would save. We know the record of their constant failure in works of profit – utter failure every turn against God!
“Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?” If man turns away from God, does he believe that God will shyly abide with him? No, to depart from God is to place a great abyss between one’s self and salvation.
“Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.” The Israelites turned to two different kinds of idols for their gods – Molock (the god of fire to whom they sacrificed their children), and Remphan (the idol god of the heavens in the form of the star). And God did, indeed, carry them captive even beyond Babylon by whose rivers and upon whose willows they sadly hung their harps.
“Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.” This was a prick in the sides of the idolatrous Israelites to have the presence of the Lord among them in their idolatries. Their dark consciences were seared to the bone to have God’s Presence among them in their apostacy from Him. The Scribes and Pharisees, too, could not abide the Presence of God in the form of Jesus among them in their idolatrous traditions derived from the minds of men. “Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David; Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.” The Gentiles who have been denied the privilege of the tabernacle presence were those who now came to God while those (the Jews) who did not favor the tabernacle among them are now excluded by their own consciences.
“But Solomon built him an house. Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?” God is not confined to the walls of a structure. The tabernacle represented His presence in the Wilderness, and the Temple – a proper display of increasing honor – in the Land of Promise. The Temple of God is still with those who love God and obey Him. God has made their bodies His Temple. Since all things on earth and in heaven belong to God, how can man offer anything to His profit?
“Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.” Do you suppose that the modern church is not full of the same hypocrites as those of the time of Christ. If Christ made application to the First Church downtown, do you believe for one minute that the credentials of this homeless and undocumented Lord would be accepted by their pulpit committee? They would feel their power and money threatened because the people would flock to Him and they would sense a great loss.
“Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.” All of the prophets of old gave testimony and prophecy of the Coming Lord Jesus Christ, yet they were tortured and murdered. And when that One of Prophecy appeared, they wanted to murder Him as well. Those who have received the most direct and sensible testimony of the law at the hands of angel are here the most incorrigible of all on earth in wanting truth and love. Even the Law which they insisted upon for their salvation was the most violated by them to their shame. They claimed to love the Law, yet hated the Law-Giver! Are you laboring for your salvation, or do you accept the only sacrifice that will remit your sins – that of the Lamb of God!