Healthy, Wealthy, & Wise

Healthy, Wealthy & Wise

In his novel The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien tells how Bilbo Baggins and a dozen dwarves traveled to the Lonely Mountain, defeated a terrible dragon, and returned home with golden treasures. Their companion for the first part of their journey was Gandalf the Grey, a man of unusual wisdom and extraordinary power. Gandalf served as their guardian and guide, and sometimes their savior. But Gandalf could not always be with them. Midway through their journey, as the traveling party prepared to enter the forest of Mirkwood, they unexpectedly learned that Gandalf would not be going with them. This unhappy news was greeted with instant dismay: “The dwarves groaned and looked most distressed, and Bilbo wept. They had begun to think Gandalf was going to come all the way and would always be there to help them out of difficulties.... They begged him not to leave them. They offered him dragon-gold and silver and jewels, but he would not change his mind.” When traveling through dangerous and unfamiliar territory, it is good to have a guide, and it’s devastating to lose one.

This morning in our passage, Exodus 33:1-6, we are going to see another group of travelers whose Savior has been with them on their journey. He has saved them, guided them and guarded them. They will also learn unexpectedly that their Savior will not be going with them in the special way that had been planned. They are also distressed, crying out and mourning the loss of His presence even though they still have their treasures. As we study our scripture this morning, we will see our group of travelers strip off the symbols of separation from their Savior in repentance, in the hope that His presence will be restored. That brings us to our big idea that God desires His people to yearn for His presence over His provision.

Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, we pause and thank you for another opportunity to be in your house to worship and praise you with other like-minded people. Pour out your Holy Spirit on each of us, opening our hearts and minds to your Word, so we can be transformed by applying it to our lives. Help us to pass it on to others that need to know about you this week. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Our first point, this morning is, the Declaration, found in Exodus 33:1-3. Follow along as I read those verses. This is what God’s Word says, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.”

Last week we learned that the Levites killed three thousand Israelites, ringleaders of the worship of the golden calf and others who would not give up their idolatry. Because of their obedience, the Levites were “set apart” for the service of God. Then Moses went up to God hoping to make atonement for the people’s great sin. He asked God to forgive their sin and if he wouldn't cut himself off, meaning death for Moses or being cut off as one of God’s chosen people. God refuses Moses’ offer but tells him he can go ahead and continue leading the Israelites to the land he promised on oath. God will send an angel to go before them and will punish the people on His own timetable. And the last thing we read was that the Lord struck the people with a plague as a direct consequence for what the people did with the calf that Aaron made.

As we come to today’s scripture, most scholars believe that verses 1-6 are a more in-depth account of the Lord’s conversation with Moses that happens in the beginning of Exodus 32:34. It is not unusual in the Bible for the author to give a broad overview of what is happening and then go back and give more specifics of the same event. With that in mind, Exodus 32:34 says, “Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you.” When we studied this passage last week, we observed that God will still be true to His covenant and an angel will still go before them, but at the moment it is unsure whether the angel will be His personal Presence or not.

Notice that we begin with a familiar phrase, “Then the Lord said to Moses,” which signals the reader to pay attention because God is going to be making an important declaration or announcement. He reiterates his promises made in the Abrahamic covenant. We can learn a number of things from verses 1-3a. The first thing we can learn is that Moses and the Israelites who were brought up out of Egypt are to leave Mt. Sinai and go up to the land the Lord promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is the promise of property that the Lord is to give them in Canaan. It seems that even though the Israelites have broken their covenant with the Lord by making and worshipping the golden calf, He will still keep His covenant that He made with the Patriarchs to give their descendants the Promised Land.

Second, we learn that the Lord will send an angel before them to drive out the present inhabitants of the Promised Land. The peoples mentioned are the sinful nations that God will wipe out of the Promised Land. He will use His chosen people the Israelites to conquer them and take over their land as their own inheritance. This is the promise of protection and power that will be displayed on their behalf. The angel will protect the people from hostile peoples along the way and then will powerfully drive the evil peoples from the land. Third, we learn that the Lord will prosper His people in the Promised Land. The Promised Land has been described a number of times as a “land flowing with milk and honey” implying richness and fertility. This was a repeated promise to prosper His people physically. There would be abundant pastureland and all sorts of fruit trees, herbs and flowers. But it was also a promise to prosper them spiritually. It was to be the land of those who followed God and His Words and the people through whom the “Word,” Jesus, would come from.  ​​​​ 

We can imagine that up to this point the people would be feeling pretty good about their situation. They had broken their covenant with Lord but the covenant God made with the Patriarchs was still in effect for them. This is good news, right? God is prospering them, making them healthy, wealthy and wise just as he promised and they really haven’t owned, confessed, or repented of their sin yet. This sounds good so far until we come to the end of verse 3 and God adds a challenge that will test the people to see where their loyalties really lie. He lets them know that His personal presence will not go with them. They will continue the journey to the Promised Land without Him. There are a number of things happening here that we need to understand to know what this means for the Israelites.

First, Moses and the Israelites should have noticed the signs that God was drawing farther away from them. The fact that a couple of times since the golden calf incident, God has called the Israelites, “Moses’ people” and not “His people” should have been a sign. The fact that God said Moses “brought the people up out of Egypt” instead of crediting himself with that mighty deed should have been another sign. The fact that the guiding presence with them has been “My angel” and now it will be “an angel” should have been a sign. The pre-incarnate Christ has been guiding and protecting them in the pillar of cloud and fire, but now a lesser heavenly being, will go before them and drive out the Canaanite nations from the land. All these signs were pointing to the fact that the Lord was distancing himself from the Israelites because of their great sin.

Second, what did it really mean that the Lord would not go with them? He is still sending an angel ahead of them to protect them and to powerfully wipe out the Canaanite nations. His covenant promises are still in effect. But we need to remember what God was showing Moses on the mountain before the golden calf incident. God was giving Moses the plans to build His house, the tabernacle, so that the Presence of the Lord could dwell “in the midst” of his people as they traveled to the Promised Land. The fact that God has just commanded Moses and the people to “leave this place” meaning Mt. Sinai and to “go up to the Promised Land” means the tabernacle is not going to be built and that he will not be dwelling “in their midst.” The construction project has been put on an indefinite hold.

Can you see the implications of this? One, they were to leave Mt. Sinai, where God’s presence has been with them, to travel without His presence. Once the tabernacle had been built, His presence would meet them in the tabernacle, and when it was time to leave Mt. Sinai, the Lord would travel with them. Two, if there is no tabernacle, there are no sacrifices and if there are no sacrifices there is no forgiveness of sins. Ryken states, “And without the tabernacle, there would be no altar for sacrifice, no laver for cleansing, no lampstand for light, no table for bread, no incense for prayer, no ark for atonement, and no glory in Israel.” The entire plan of salvation in the OT that was to lead Christ into the NT is dead in the water at the moment.

Third, we see the grace of God in not going with His people. Once the law was given and they were brought face to face with the reality of their sin and its consequences, they knew that the holiness of God was serious business, and that the Lord would expect them to be obedient and faithful to the covenant. Now that they had broken the covenant, he could not go with them because His holiness would demand that He destroy them if they sinned along the way. And because they were stiff-necked people, prone to sin, their destruction would be a foregone conclusion. God loved them and did not want to destroy them so in his grace and mercy and for their safety he withdrew his presence. This distance between God and the Israelites was for their benefit. But this was a problem because you can’t know God and it’s hard to have a personal relationship with Him if you are distant from Him. The greatest priority for any child of God is to walk with God at all times so that he or she does not grieve the Holy Spirit. Paul in Ephesians 4 says to “put off” your old self which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; and to “put on” the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. If we are continually putting on the new self we will not grieve the Holy Spirit and are able to stay close to the Lord. We also see the grace of God in that by sending “an angel” in His place, His people would have another chance to have a future as His chosen people.

It is ironic that the very reason they wanted an idol built was because they craved a direct and obvious divine presence and wanted a God who would be right there in their midst. But because of their idolatry and breaking the covenant, his presence could not dwell in their midst and would have to be limited in the future. Our sin and idolatry always take us farther from the presence of God and our relationship with Him. When this happens, our tables are empty and not full. Fourth, we come to the test. The test was how would the people react to this news? Remember, they were still going to receive His protection and power and would still possess the Promised Land. They would just do it without the presence of the Lord with them. This kind of reminds us of the prosperity gospel where you are offered health and wealth and the presence of God is an afterthought. We are tempted by the world every day to choose peace, happiness, contentment, a better life now, and monetary benefits to the exclusion of a genuine relationship and the presence of the Lord. We are more concerned about the gifts than the giver. But isn’t this what a lot of people want? They want the blessings they can get from God, and they want to go to heaven but aren’t interested in having a personal relationship with Him. They believe it would cramp their style, or they may have to give up some friends, or they won’t be able to live the lifestyle they want, which could all be true.

We remember the story of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16-22 who came to Jesus with a question about how he could have eternal life. Jesus told him to sell his possessions and give to the poor, and he would have treasure in heaven and then said to follow him. The man went away sad, because he had great wealth. He would rather have held on to his wealth, his idol, instead of holding onto Jesus. How many of us do the same thing? Life is good. God has blessed me. We are healthy, wealthy and wise or at least that’s what we are hoping for, and things are good right now. We have food on the table, a roof over our heads, a job, and we believe when things get tough, then we will seek the Lord. Let us not be like the rich young ruler. Let us be people who realize that having the “milk and honey” of the Promised Land or having a good life and lots of possessions is of no value if you don’t truly know the one true and living God. Lloyd-Jones states, “To be given every other blessing is of no value if God is not with you.” That brings us to our first next step which is to Reject the idea of being healthy, wealthy and wise without having a genuine relationship with the Lord.

That brings us to our second point, Decision, found in Exodus 33:4-6. This is what God’s Word says, “When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn, and no one put on any ornaments. For the Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you.’” So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb.

Sometime after verse 3, Moses comes down the mountain and tells the people what the Lord had said. Notice the words in verse 5, “For the Lord had said to Moses” and the words in verse 4 “When the people heard these distressing words.” We will look at verse 5 first because it explains the people’s reaction in verse 4. Moses tells the Israelites exactly what the Lord had told him to say to them. One, they are stiff-necked people. This is the second time the Lord has called them that. “Stiff-necked” means “obstinate” and “stubborn” but it is more than that. It means they were obstinately and stubbornly resisting God. The Israelites would not submit to the yoke of God’s commandments and statutes. They behaved in an unacceptable and unreasonable manner; in spite of the consequences, they would face.”

Two, because they are stiff-necked people, the Lord knows that if he goes “in their midst” even for a moment, he might destroy them. This is not because God can’t control what he does but that their sinfulness would prompt his holiness to consume them. Habakkuk 1:13 says, “Your eyes are too pure to look at evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.” God is holy and righteous, and his nature will not allow Him to abide sin much less have it in His presence. He would be forced to destroy them if he went with them in their midst. “Even for a moment” gives the sense of destruction coming suddenly as in a wink of the eye and emphasizes the fragile relationship that is between the Lord and the people because of their rebellion and idolatry.

Then the Lord tells them to do something. He commands them to take off their ornaments and he will decide what to do with them. What are these ornaments? These ornaments were part of the jewelry that they had plundered from the Egyptians as they left Egypt. These were the remaining pieces of gold that were not given to make the golden calf. These were the symbols of their idolatry and sin against the Lord. He is commanding them to take them off just like Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell his possessions and give to the poor. God wanted to know if the people were willing to give up their “ornaments” and to practically and passionately pursue His presence. Were they now willing to own their sin, confess their sin and repent of their sin.

When the Lord said, “I will decide what to do with you” or “so that I may know what to do with you”, He was testing the people. Just like the test God gave Moses when he told him to “leave me alone and my anger will burn against them,” the Lord wanted to know if they would be repentant and sorry for what they had done in breaking the covenant with him. If they were obedient to the Lord, it would possibly open up the door for their relationship to be close again and for them to be his people and for Him to be their God. We need to go back to verse four to see how the people responded to the Lord’s declaration. It says when they hear these distressing words, they begin to mourn, and no one put on their ornaments. These “distressing words” were that the Lord would not dwell in their midst as planned. They were disappointed, afraid, ashamed and rebuked. They are distressed because this is what they truly wanted. They wanted a personal God who would be close to them and their sin caused God to be farther away from them.

When they heard these distressing words, they did two things. First, they mourned. All of a sudden, they realize what they have lost because of their idolatry and sin. They realize that their greatest need was to know the one true God, Yahweh, and to be in a close relationship with Him. They showed genuine repentance inwardly, in their hearts and attitudes by mourning like they had lost a loved one. The word for “mourning” is the same word used when Jacob heard about the death of his son, Joseph. The second thing they did was to not put on any ornaments in obedience to the Lord’s command. They showed genuine repentance by their outward actions. In the ancient Near East, mourning involved not just a heart change, exhibited by a change in attitude, but it also involved an outward change that showed in their appearance. What one wore showed that they were in mourning. They would not wear fancy or cheerful clothing but made their appearance as plain as possible. This reminds us of wearing black at funerals today to show respect for the dead and that it is a solemn and somber time. ​​ 

Finally, we see in verse 6 that they went even further with their repentance. It says they stripped off their ornaments. If we looked at these verses in order, we may think there was a discrepancy. How could they strip off their ornaments in verse six if they didn’t put any on in verse four. What verse six is telling us is that the Israelites responded with eagerness to be repentant and not wear their ornaments in mourning the loss of the near presence of the Lord. This eagerness is indicated by doing more than what the Lord required. By “stripping off’ instead of just “taking off” they showed they were not worthy to enjoy the plunder that God gave them from Egypt. And they were sorry for using that gold to make the golden calf and committing idolatry. The last thing we notice is they stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb. “At Mount Horeb” is better translated as “from Mount Horeb.” ​​ This means that once they took off their ornaments in repentance, they did not put them back on again after leaving from there. This seems to have lasted until they arrived at the Promised Land. These actions taken in repentance proved that they were more concerned with having the Lord’s presence in their midst than His provision (Big Idea).

Hebrews 12:1 says to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” For the Israelites it was their ornaments that entangled them. They symbolized their love of the past in Egypt and their reliance on what they could see. But they repented and stripped them off. What are the ornaments we need to “strip off?” These are the things that we make idols in our lives and the things in our old nature that we try to remain connected to such as the love of money, sex, pornography, alcohol, friends who drag us back into sin, anger, and there are so much more. But whatever they are, the sins that hinder and entangle us must be removed and laid aside for God to do his work in our lives. There should be nothing that draws us back to the things of our old nature, instead we must be intentional about letting go of our ornaments and replacing them with a practical and passionate pursuit of God’s presence in our lives. This happens when we have given the Lord a permanent seat at our table and our relationship with Him is full. That brings us to our last next step which is to “Strip off” my ornaments and replace them with a practical and passionate pursuit of God’s presence.

As Gene and Roxey come to lead us in a final song and the ushers prepare to collect the tithes and offering, let’s pray: Heavenly Father, in Jesus’ name, we give you honor, glory and praise for your Word. We thank you that we do not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from your mouth. Lord, help us to reject being healthy, wealthy and wise without having a genuine relationship with you. Help us to “strip off” our ornaments and replace them with a practical and passionate pursuit of your presence. Help us to yearn for your presence more than your provision, Amen.

Opening: Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 1023–1027.