Authentic Worship and the Renewed Covenant | Exodus 34:18-28
Exodus 34:18-28 · September 17, 2026 · 1 hr 6 min
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Exodus 34:18-28 sets out what God requires of Israel after the golden calf: keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, redeem the firstborn, rest on the Sabbath, appear before the Lord three times a year, and bring the first of the first fruits. Having spent the previous verses telling Israel what not to do, God now tells them what to do instead.
The sermon argues that these commands are not a new covenant but a reiteration of Exodus 20, given because Israel is a stubborn people heading into a land full of foreign worship. Numbers 25 and the incident with Phinehas show how quickly the warning was ignored, and the New Testament warnings about apostasy in 1 Timothy, Hebrews and 1 John are held up alongside it. A distinction is drawn between a lapse or season of doubt and a final, willful turning away.
The closing section works out how these ordinances come to the church. Christ is the Passover lamb, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep, and the fulfillment of the feasts, and the Lord's Supper is where the church now feeds on him. The call is to sweep out the old yeast, tear down present-day idols, and honor the Lord's Day.
In this sermon
- The setting: God renews the covenant after the golden calf and Moses' plea in Exodus 33
- Verses 10-17 say what not to do; verse 18 onward says what to do instead
- The feasts as corporate, not private, worship, rooted in God's deliverance from Egypt
- Playing the harlot and spiritual adultery, and Jeroboam's two calves in 1 Kings
- Apostasy defined, and the difference between final apostasy and backsliding
- Numbers 25, Phinehas and the spear, and the plague that killed 24,000
- Redeeming the donkey with a lamb, and redeeming every firstborn son
- Why God's law leaves no room for the sacrifice of children
- Sabbath rest even during plowing and harvest, and Jesus' answer to the Pharisees
- Boiling a goat in its mother's milk as a Canaanite fertility rite
- Christ as Passover lamb, first fruits, and the meaning of the Lord's Supper
Chapters
0:00 Where we are in Exodus 34
4:32 Reading Exodus 34:18-28
9:42 Corporate worship and the three feasts
15:41 Why God must repeat himself to Israel
19:27 Numbers 25, Phinehas and the plague
24:58 New Testament warnings about falling away
27:16 Unleavened bread and remembering deliverance
28:16 Redemption of donkeys and firstborn sons
34:40 No place for sacrificing children
36:23 Sabbath rest even at plowing and harvest
43:05 Three pilgrimages and God's protection of the land
47:55 First fruits and the boiled goat
52:45 Moses writes the words of the covenant
54:19 Christ our Passover lamb and first fruits
1:02:55 The Lord's Supper as the seal of grace
Scripture: Exodus 34:18-28 · Exodus 33:16 · Exodus 20 · 1 Kings · Numbers 25:1-9 · 1 Timothy 4:1-3 · Hebrews 6:4-6 · 1 John 2 · Exodus 12-13 · Exodus 22 · Exodus 23 · Luke 14 · Proverbs 28 · Luke · 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 · 1 Corinthians 15
Chapters
0:00 Where we are in Exodus 34
4:32 Reading Exodus 34:18-28
9:42 Corporate worship and the three feasts
15:41 Why God must repeat himself to Israel
19:27 Numbers 25, Phinehas and the plague
24:58 New Testament warnings about falling away
27:16 Unleavened bread and remembering deliverance
28:16 Redemption of donkeys and firstborn sons
34:40 No place for sacrificing children
36:23 Sabbath rest even at plowing and harvest
43:05 Three pilgrimages and God's protection of the land
47:55 First fruits and the boiled goat
52:45 Moses writes the words of the covenant
54:19 Christ our Passover lamb and first fruits
1:02:55 The Lord's Supper as the seal of grace
Transcript
goal was to try to finish, not finish Exodus 34, but get close because there's still one more portion of it that we will most likely look at and finish next week. But today I was hoping to get through at least verse 26, most likely 27 and 28. So a really quick little bit of background, right? This section of Exodus is dealing with what I think is clear. God is showing us what's authentic worship and inauthentic worship. Worship that pleases Him and worship that leads us to trouble and despair. And if we're looking at these verses, God is describing and He's reiterating a renewal of the covenant that He's made with Israel. And it's in that context here where Moses is at with God once again, mediating for the people. because God had said, I'm not going to go with you guys anymore, right? Remember back in Exodus 33 and prior to that, he said, I'm not going to be with you anymore when I take you to the promised land because you're a sinful people. And if I'm in your presence, I'm going to destroy you. And Moses pleads with him to remind him who he is through his character and through his attributes that they need him and that he is the God Almighty that should accompany him. And as a matter of fact Moses says if we to be distinct from all the world we must know that you have found favor with us And so God is honoring that prayer of Moses here And he says okay I will continue with you but behold I going to make a covenant with you And we saw that in verse 10 of Exodus 34. And last week we looked at what God's stipulations or requirements of this covenant would be. And most of it was, don't do these things. What I'm going to do and be with you and take you into the promised land, don't do these things. And we looked at some of those things. He said, tear down altars. You know, tear down false idols. And we talked about idolatry a lot last week. And God said, because I'm a jealous God, right? And he said, his name is Jealous. And what that means is that the Lord will not share his name with anything that is not authentic, that is not true. You can't misuse God's name. You can't worship falsely in the name of Yahweh. for if you do, God is displeased with that. That's what he's telling the people. So in light of that, he says, don't do these things. Don't play the harlot, is what he was telling them last week. We're going to look at that a little bit more in the context for today. But the harlot is a prostitute. That's what that is. And God is telling his people, don't be a prostitute. Don't sell yourself to anybody for gain. be exclusive to me That the words That the words God is using for His people And so today we going to see that God is going to continue to reiterate that part of the covenant of God with His people is for the people to understand that this is an exclusive relationship. You can have no other gods before me. And so we're going to read some things today and it's going to sound very familiar if you've been reading your Bible and been with us through Exodus. it's going to sound a lot like chapter 20 and the giving of the Ten Commandments. And the reason being is because, remember, in this context of what's happening, there was the golden calf incident where all the people made this golden calf and they began to worship it while Moses was in the presence of God on Mount Sinai. And then God told Moses, go down because this people that you brought out of Egypt, right? He said they have begun to act corruptly. and they were worshiping false gods. And so Moses had to go down and clean things up, and it's now in light of that that God has now returned to Moses and said, okay, I'm going to reestablish this covenant with you, and I want you to write these words down on two tablets. And when Moses went down, he destroyed, he broke the original tablets that he was writing with God on the mountain, that God wrote and scripted his Ten Commandments, right? And so here is a reiteration now of it and I want us to see today that it not new God isn giving a new commandment or a new covenant right He just reiterating what has already been said in chapter 20 And so we going to look at that today. And Moses is going to be reminded with the people of who God is and what God is revealing to those who are his. So we're going to read from verses, starting in verse 18. And we're going to look at, keep in mind that God has just said, don't do these things, tear down all this idolatry. Don't play the prostitute to me, right? Don't make false gods. Now in verse 18 and moving on, he says, instead do this, right? So verses 10 through 17 were don't, and now verses 19 or 18 and following, most of the verses here are going to be do this, do what's honorable. So let's take a look at that. So what's our custom here at Mercy and Grace Church is we ask you if you are willing, if you are able, would you please stand with us? We invite you to stand with us for the reading of God's word. Exodus 34, beginning in verse 18. I'm reading to you from the NASB, the New American Standard Version. And this is the word of our Lord. You shall observe the feast of unleavened bread. For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you at the appointed time in the month of Abib. For in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt. The first offspring from every womb belongs to me, and your male livestock, the first offspring from cattle and sheep. You shall redeem with the lamb the first offspring from a donkey, and if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. You shall redeem all the firstborn of your sons. None shall appear before me empty-handed. You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest. Even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest. You shall celebrate the feast of weeks, that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the turn of the year. Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders, and no man shall covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord your God. you shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with unleavened bread nor is the sacrifice of the feast of the passover to be left over until morning you shall bring the very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house of the lord your god you shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk then the lord said to moses write down these words for in accordance with these words i have made a covenant with you and with israel so he was there with the lord 40 days and 40 nights he did not eat bread or drink water and he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant the ten commandments church this is the reading of god word please join with me in prayer heavenly father we thank you uh that you speak to us you speak to us through your word and the preaching of your word And Lord I pray that right now that we would prepare our hearts and our minds to receive your word to receive it as all authority, to trust in it above and beyond anything else. And Father, we pray that you enlighten us today through your word to know more about you, to fall more in love with our Savior, Jesus Christ, and to live lives that are honorable and pleasing to you. May that be the effect of your word, read, preached, and taught today. May it instruct us, equip us, encourage us, comfort us, and guide us. We thank you, Lord, and we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. You may be seated. so here we are once again and it sounds a lot like I said what we've already read you don't have to turn there but you can highlight in Exodus chapter 20 we have the giving of the Ten Commandments and God said some of these things verbatim if you would, of what they were to do, how they were to practice certain things, what it was when they were to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Passover. And that's the part of it right now that I think is important for us to understand. When we look at this portion of Exodus 34 today, we have to remember the context. The context of what going on remember the Israelites had just committed this great sin of idolatry with the golden calf And God is now instructing them on how they are to worship him in the covenant So they had messed up. He spared them. He gave them mercy. He gave them grace. But he says, now you shall continue this way. Right? When you come into the promised land, get rid of all the idols, tear down all the false gods, all the Asherah poles, all of those things, right? Smash them, get rid of them. Don't play the prostitute with other gods, right? Don't commit spiritual adultery, in other words. And then the Lord says to the Israelites that you must now instead do these things. And he starts with the feasts, the three feasts. And we went over these three feasts all the way back in Exodus 20 and prior. And the reason I believe that this is important for us to understand is because when God shapes it in this context and in this way, he's basically saying that the safe place for God's people is not in false worship, but authentic worship. And the foundation of this authentic worship is found in what we would call corporate gathering of the people. what we're doing today on the Lord's Day is a corporate worship. What do I mean by that? This isn't private. This isn't private worship. You not by yourself You not alone You not in your house You not somewhere else You not in your car you not by yourself worshiping god you have gathered together with others to worship god that was the that was the point of the feasts the feasts were symbolic of a lot of things but but one of the the foundational things about the feast was that the people would have to come together and they would have to worship God together to observe these things, right? And so God was repeating this pattern of worship for them. He wanted them to understand that the way to practice to stay in love with God was to maintain this corporate way of worship or a regulative pattern of worship, a regular way to enter into God's rest. God is saying, this is how you do it. The very best way to enter into my rest is to gather, observe the things I've commanded you, and to give me your very best. That's what we're going to see here today, again, that God is reiterating, right? He wants them to understand that God's nurturing love is founded in this pilgrimage of his people, right? That's what they're on. They're on this pilgrimage. They're on this journey. And they've messed up. They've worshipped a false god. They've come to this place where where they abandoned the covenant and it was only merely a few days. And they found themselves susceptible to false ways of worshiping God, even though their hearts were good intentioned, right? If you remember, they said, let's build this calf or this image, and this is Yahweh, let's call it God, the God who brought us out of Egypt. Right? and that would be a violation of the original commandments that God gave them all the way back in Exodus 20, which was what? One of the commandments was what? Not to use the name of the Lord in vain. You can't apply God's name to false worship or to a false God, no matter how right you think it is. And so God is clarifying with them, no, this is the way that you shall observe yourselves, this is the way that you shall worship me. And God had to put these things in here for authentic worship. so that we, or so that the Israel would understand what was false worship and also for us today, for the church. It's important for the church today to understand what's authentic worship and what's inauthentic worship. I think that's something that plagues the church today. I think that's something that Christians are actually very ignorant of, is what's true worship. What is it to come and worship the Lord? Can we just do it any way we want? As long as there's feeling there and good intentions, can we worship Him how we please? well from the examples in scripture from the example in exodus that's what they were doing at the bottom of the mountain right worshiping that calf with all their heart and they even put in the the the gold that god had given them to fashion this idol and they even claimed it was the god who brought them out of egypt and what happened god struck them down so so it's important for us to see how how it is that god calls us to worship him and and again we have to root this in the context here because all the way back in Exodus chapter 33 and verse 16 if you remember these things when Moses mediated for the people right after this golden calf incident in Exodus 33 verse 16 Moses says For how then can it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not by your going with us, so that we and I and your people may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth? In other words, Moses is saying, the only thing that's going to distinguish us, apart from everyone else, Lord, is you being with us. Now this was in response to God saying, I'm not going with you guys anymore, right? And Moses was saying, but if you don't go with us, how can we be distinguished from everyone else on the face of this earth? And what Moses was pleading to was exactly what God had put on his heart. Is there has to be an exclusivity between God and his people. And Moses understood that. Moses knew that, wait a minute, we're not going to be those who have found favor if you're not even with us. How can we claim that to this strange world where we're going, where you're taking us into a foreign land? If you're not even with us, how can we claim to be your people? And so then God responds, and I love the way that God responds to that, right? God says, okay, I'm going to make this covenant with you. because the covenant of God and his people is exactly what distinguishes foreign gods, false gods, from God's true people. God only made a covenant with his people. Right? And there's no foreign or false gods who have made covenants with other people. God has made that covenant And he warns here He warns as we learned last week don go into this foreign land now and make covenants with anyone else because that going to be your downfall instead instead of making the covenant do these things instead of making covenants with false gods do the things that i have laid out for you why do you think god has to be so repetitive if you would with Israel, right? He's already gone over these things with them before. Why do you think he has to do it again? Well, the reason is because Israel is what? An obstinate people, a stubborn and rebellious people. And if you think that the golden calf incident was, okay, they're going to learn from this, right? They're never going to make false gods again. There's actually an account in in first kings where jeroboam actually makes instead of one golden calf two and says this is our god let's worship him so this becomes a a a downfall or a characteristic of israel and that's false worship that's playing the harlot with other gods and god is clear about don't do that don't play the harlot don't commit spiritual adultery and prostitution with other gods and you think they would get it, but they don't. So that's why God has to reiterate these things over and over again in Scripture. Idolatry and apostasy is one of the biggest problems that Israel faces in the Old Testament. Now, you might ask, well, what is apostasy? Well, apostasy describes those who have voluntarily and consciously abandoned their faith in the God of the covenant Rather than a single momentary lapse it pertains to the orientation of the heart to moral behavior and to theological orthodoxy In other words, it's a comprehensive turning away from God's authority and his truth. That's what apostasy is. Apostasy is coming to know God, experiencing God, being around his covenant, his covenant people, and then just saying voluntarily and willfully, I reject it all. I reject it all and I turn from it. This is something that Israel struggled with. Now, I said in there, and I hope you caught that, that there's a difference between final apostasy and momentary lapses. A lapse or what some people might call backsliding. I think we're all guilty of that. I think there are seasons in our life where we maybe, for whatever it is, whatever we're going through, whatever personal struggles we may have, we maybe start to doubt God. Maybe we say, I don't even understand. I go to church. I'm going to stop going. I'm going to stop going to church. I'm going to stop going to Bible study. I'm going to stop going to these things because nothing's changing. I'm still upset. I'm still sad. I'm still troubled in whatever areas of my life. I thought God was going to fix all these things, right? Those are lapses. I think if we're honest with ourselves, all of us go through those sometimes, right? I think some of us at times, it's okay, he's good. He's a future pitcher right here, right? Right? I think some of us go through some of those lapses and some of those doubts at times. And I want you to be encouraged that that's not what apostasy is. Apostasy is ultimately saying, forget it, I'm done, and turning from it, right? Now, oftentimes it's called the unpardonable rebellion of God's truth. there's no forgiveness for it when when someone ultimately apostatizes from christian doctrine and christian teaching now who are those that do that well that's that's god god god figures that out we we aren't the judges of someone who may be backsliding or ultimately be turning from the lord but nonetheless the warnings are there and god's warning is here for his people because they're an obstinate stubborn people and he knows that they're going to be tempted with foreign gods and foreign ways of worship. Turn, if you would, to Numbers chapter 25. If you're in Exodus 34, turn to Numbers 25 for a moment. Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers. Now, Numbers 25, beginning in verse 1, Listen to this portion of Scripture. Now this would be after what we reading right now in Exodus 34 It would be generations after Because it would be after Aaron passed It would be after Moses sister Miriam died but this would still be the generation of those in the wilderness here And in Numbers chapter 25 verse 1, it says, while Israel remained in Shittim, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. Hold on. What did God just say back in Exodus 34 last week. What did he say? Don't play the harlot with false gods, right? Don't let your sons marry foreign daughters. Okay. Look what happens here. It says the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab for they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor and the Lord was angry against Israel. The Lord said to Moses, take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel. Wow. Those of you guys who think that God is not a God of justice, read the word. So Moses said to the judges of Israel, each of you slay his men who have joined themselves to Baal of Peor. False worship. If you've joined yourself to a false god, the consequences here in scripture was kill him in broad daylight Make an example of him This was God command Verse six then behold one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his relatives a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel while they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting. Think about this picture here. Think about this for a second. Here's God telling Moses, Your people once again have played the harlot with false gods by intermarrying with women of false religions. I'm so angry at you I want you Moses to destroy those judges and the elders and get them and gather them and any man who is participating in this destroy them so Moses is getting this divine revelation obviously it's at the tent of meeting where God's dwelling would be at the tabernacle that's where they're getting instruction from Yahweh and that's where they're at and people are weeping at the tent of meeting because of what Israel is doing and they know God's anger has arisen and the wrath of God is being ready to be poured out. And all of a sudden, it says, one of the sons of Israel brought this woman, a Midianite woman, right up to them while they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting. So they're going through, like, God is like, what are you guys doing? Look what's happening. You're playing the harlot once again with women from a foreign land that are going to lead you to idolatry through the worship of their false gods. I despise it. I'm a jealous God, right? And then here comes this dude walking right up with this foreign woman right in the midst verse 7 when Phineas or Phineas the son of Eliezer the son of Aaron the priest saw it he arose from the midst of the congregation and he took a spear in his hand and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and pierced both of them through the man of Israel and the woman through the body yeah i know crazy right bible's filled with stuff like this here comes this dude frolicking in with this foreign woman takes her into his tent yes they weren't going in there to play kumbaya and read right it's probably what you're thinking they were doing and phineas phineas the son of eleazar the son of aaron so who was his grandfather aaron the priest he he rises up grabs a spear walks in there and plunges it through both of them. And then it says, so the plague on the sons of Israel was checked. Those who died by the plague were 24,000. So up until this moment, 24,000 people of Israel died because God sent a plague upon them for what? Playing the harlot, practicing idolatry. And the reason I read this portion of scripture is because we're here in Exodus 34 and we would think and you would hope that God's words to Israel would be something that they would learn from. But obviously they don't. So the warnings are there for those who are gods. Those who are not the lords will continue to rebel and participate in all kinds of sin and apostasy throughout the Old Testament. But God's words stand. And this is a lesson for us, the church. In the New Testament, Paul warns that in later times, some will fall away from the faith. He says they will be paying attention to deceitful spirits and the doctrines of demons. This is in 1 Timothy 4, 1 and 3. In Hebrews, the book of Hebrews, the author there says that there are those who have been enlightened and tasted heavenly gifts, but then they've fallen away, making it impossible to renew them again to repentance. This is in Hebrews chapter 6, verses 4 through 6. And so the New Testament even talks about those who will fall away, who will turn away, who won't listen to God's words and His commands, and will break the very covenant that they have between the Almighty God and who they're supposed to be as God's people. And the warnings are there. And 1 John, which we read every Lord's Day, in chapter 2, John gives an explanation of what type of people these are and who they are. So if you're wondering right now, could this possibly be myself or could this be someone else? Here's something that John gives us to help us and comfort us. In 1 John, he says, those who apostatize or the actual words he says those who went out from us they were never really of us Okay So there are those who will fall away There are those who will participate in the great truths of the Almighty God. There are those who will corporately worship with God, observe His ordinances and His commandments, and receive His grace at times. And ultimately will turn at the end and say, I want nothing to do with this anymore. For those of you who think that they may lose their salvation, we understand and hold here at Mercy and Grace Church that that's not the possibility. No, it's more what John has said here, and that is, if they went out, ultimately and finally, it's because they were never really of us to begin with. They never really were a believer to begin with. And so, God is establishing something here in Exodus 34, which is important for us to see in the context of the golden calf, in the context of him saying, don't play the harlots with the people. In verse 18, he says, instead do this, observe the feast of unleavened bread, right? So go back to Exodus 34. And he says, you're to do this for seven days in the month of Abib when you came out of Egypt. What is God reminding them there of? His deliverance. He's saying, you want to practice false worship? Don't do it. Instead, practice authentic worship And let me highlight that to you That gathering and gather for the feast of unleavened bread Continue to practice that May that be perpetual in the life of my people Why Because that when I delivered you That when I brought you out of Egypt So the very foundation for your corporate worship or the motivation to why to gather and worship me, it needs to be rooted in what? My deliverance of you. Me bringing you out of slavery. That's what he's telling Israel. If you want to make sure you're not playing the harlot, observe this feast. Okay? And then he goes on to say, in verse 20, you shall redeem with a lamb the first offspring from a donkey. And if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. So then he goes, after talking about this feast, then he talks about redemption. Purchasing back. That's what redeeming is. God was a redeemer. He redeemed Israel, what? Out of Egypt. How did he purchase his people? Do you guys remember? He purchased them through what? Through the spilling of blood. The Passover lamb. And so the feast of unleavened bread is always tied to the Passover. Because if you remember, they had to make unleavened bread, which was bread that wouldn't rise. They couldn't make it with yeast. And this is all the way back in Exodus chapter 12 and 13, right? When they were leaving Egypt. And yeast always symbolized sin. And also for that time, the angel of death was coming, so they couldn't wait around. They had to hurry up. So they had to make bread in haste. And so God is reminding them of their deliverance because he a redeeming God And he shed blood for the purchase of his people And the Passover lamb blood had to be wiped over the doorposts in order for the angel of death to pass over them right? So God is reminding them of this. Why? In light of their idolatry, because they've gotten away from it. And he knows when they go into foreign lands, they're going to be attracted to false worship again. So he's reiterating to them, if you want to safeguard yourselves and be in my blessings, practice the things that I have given you. Understand the worship I'm calling you to, the true worship. So redeem your livestock, your cattle and your sheep. Verse 20, it says, you shall redeem a lamb or the first offspring from a donkey. And if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. Now that's a funny verse right there, right? But again, these are basically reiterances of some moral law that was given in Exodus 20, followed by some ceremonial and cultural laws that were given to Israel. It's not all the law given again, but it's reiterating some sound principles for the people on how God's renewing His covenant in light of what? Their idolatry. In light of their covenant breaking. So He's talking about redemption, because He's a God of redemption. He redeems. And so he's reminding them, redeem your animals, because everything belongs to me. And just for practical, not practical context, but just to understand the scripture, where it says, you shall redeem with a lamb the first offspring from a donkey, and if you don't redeem it, then you shall break its neck. What that means there is... God was allowing Israel to kill male donkeys. Why is that important? It's not so much important on the grand scheme of things, but on how they were to live. Everything belonged to God. Animals, agriculture, people, right? And so God was saying, this is how, this is the model. Listen to me. Practice what I'm teaching you. Redeem your offspring. redeem with a male donkey with a lamb in other words you need a male donkey to be a stud for all the other female donkeys but how many male donkeys do you need you only need one so god is saying redeem that one but you have to redeem it by sacrificing the lamb the ultimate principle here is that a life for a life right blood for blood so you want to keep a male donkey you have to redeem it with a lamb the rest of those male donkeys that you don't want go ahead and break their neck. Number one, they weren't an animal that served in the temple. They were a beast of burden, more equipped for harsh labor and this and that. So God is saying, it's okay. So you don't have to feed them and continue them to be a burden upon you if you have a bunch of male donkeys. Redeem one. The other ones you can euthanize, basically. And then he goes on to say, and if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck You shall redeem all the firstborn of your sons None shall appear before me empty Then God goes on to say you shall also redeem the firstborn of your sons all of them Okay There no allowance here right There no redeem the firstborn of your sons only a few of them, the other ones you can break their necks. That's not here. God says, redeem all your firstborn sons, but he doesn't require them or command from them to give them to him he says redeem them they're yours your firstborn son is yours it's for the family it's to cultivate this family gathering it's to cultivate that your son has been redeemed and purchased the same way i purchased you there is no room in god's mode of worship for his people to sacrifice children. Other cultures would do that. Again, if you read this just in reading it and not in light of idolatry committed at the base of Mount Sinai with the golden calf and not in light of where they were going into the land of Canaan where other things were practiced like this, God is saying, I'm establishing what I do and how you're to do it because when we get over here, you're going to see people actually sacrificing their children. We don't do that. You redeem them. You redeem them with a lamb. They're precious to me. You redeem your children. Don't be attracted by the foreign gods and these false idols and these cults who sacrifice babies And remember this would have hit home too for the Jews Why Because what happened in Egypt prior to them being brought out The firstborn sons were being thrown into the river. Remember that? Pharaoh was tossing all of the sons into the river. Moses was saved. So we have this constant picture of God redeeming and God saving. and so here he's saying when you get to this new land of canaan watch out and we're probably thinking gosh this is harsh for the lord to go over this again but we have to understand the people he's talking to are just as stubborn as donkeys and they're going to be attracted to these foreign gods and he says so you shall redeem your firstborn sons and just a little side note there for those of us who are here today and and i don't know why i'm going to say this, but I'm just going to say it because I think it's important. There's never any room for sacrificing children in God's law and in God's way. And I speak to everyone here today. I don't know what your background is or what you've been through or how you've been raised or what you think. But there's no room for my body, my choice in God's word. abortion is not something a Christian should even ever consider. God has sent his son to redeem even the babies in the womb And God is making it very clear here that that kind of practice is idolatrous It foreign It false And before any of you and again I just feel led to say this I don't know what position you've been in or what you've had to endure, women, but understand that even that God forgives. God comforts. There's nothing that we've ever done that cannot be forgiven by the Lord. And at times we've done things that probably weren't according to his word. Praise God that even the blood of Christ washes over all of those sins. Amen? And comforts us. And so we trust in him and we trust in his word. And that's what he's telling his people. That's really what he's telling them here. You're going to go into this foreign land. I already see what you guys do. You're so susceptible to be misled and chase after false gods. Don't do these things. Instead, do this. Honor the feast of unleavened bread in the Passover. Remember your redemption and practice redemption within you. Redeem your animals and redeem your children. Why? Because I am a God of redemption and you're a people of redemption. So that's why those laws are there. And then in verse 21, he says, you shall work six days, but on the seventh day, you shall rest. Even during plowing time and harvest time, you shall rest. You shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks. Let's stop real quick. He goes back to the Sabbath, right? That's the Sabbath day. That's Exodus chapter 20, right? Commandment number 4. honor the Sabbath day and what? Keep it holy. God is saying another sign and another mark of authentic worship is to set apart a day for rest. That's who you are, my people. I have worked six days and created the world, and on the seventh day I rested and I kept it holy. You too are to participate in that. Remember, the context here is that Israel is to be a people unlike no other. they will participate in a feast of unleavened bread every first month of of abib right every time that and people foreign lands are gonna be like what are they doing making this nasty bread that's got no yeast right practicing this passover what are they doing over here why are they redeeming their animals why do they sacrifice lambs so that they can keep an animal Why do they sacrifice a lamb every time a firstborn son comes into their family and their culture? Okay? These are things that God is doing. Why do they not do anything on the sixth day? What is this, people? And what I love about God's word is every time God reiterates the Sabbath, because this isn't the first time, right? In Exodus, this is probably, I think this is the third time he's now talking about the Sabbath and honoring it. You always learn something new about the Sabbath. I don't know if you guys caught it. It took me a little bit of reading and some studying. I was like, wow. He says you shall work six days but on the seventh day you shall rest And then he says even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest That important That so important Just that little phrase there at the end of that is super important to his people. Why? Because there's going to be an issue in the New Testament. There's going to be an issue in the time of Christ. Where the people of God, the Pharisees and the religious leaders of that time, are going to challenge Jesus on the Sabbath day always. and they're going to see what he does and what he doesn't do. And based on what he does or he doesn't do, they're going to say, ah, you're not a true messenger of God because you don't need to observe his laws. And so one of those things that they test Jesus on is going to see if he was going to heal someone on the Sabbath day. And that constituted to them work. And Jesus does what? He heals the man on the Sabbath day with the withered hand. and they were like pointing at him and then jesus tells him in luke 14 he says you guys you guys are hypocrites and i'm paraphrasing here right but he says even if you had a son or if you had an animal that fell into a hole on the sabbath day you would stop go in there and rescue it wouldn't you and they obviously they had nothing to say because they knew that they would and jesus goes on to teach them about what's the true principle of rest what happens is some people like to take that moment well Jesus said hey even a even a my child or my animal falls into a hole that an emergency I therefore can violate the Sabbath law of rest and I can act And I can do that. Jesus is just saying that's logical, right? That's okay to do. But see, some people take it too far now. And they take it, well, since that was an emergency, I have emergencies in my life on Sundays. I have emergencies in my life on the Lord's Day that it's okay to violate the day of rest. I got a bill to pay this week. I need to work Sunday. It is an emergency. Look what God is saying here. Even during plowing time and harvest time, you shall rest. God was making it known to his people right then and there. That there's going to come times in the life of Israel and my people where plowing time, which is super important because you're an agricultural people. And the only way that you're going to make your food is by working and plowing the fields. There's going to be the most pristine days and perfect opportunities to plow. And you're going to say, you know what, I need to be out there plowing. Nope. Even during that time, don't do it, God is saying. And then he goes on to say and even during harvesting Well how did they make their living By plowing and harvesting And God is saying even in the most opportune and attractive times for both of those things don't do it. Trust in me to provide for you and rest during the plowing and the harvesting time. Now, he's not saying don't plow and don't harvest, right? He's not saying that at all. He's saying during that time, do it six days. You got six days to go work, plow, plant, harvest. But if you want to be separated from all other nations and understand what true authentic worship is, then you shall observe my Sabbath day. That's what he's saying. Remember, this is not in what must I do to honor God. God is saying to be counted as my covenant people. this is my covenant ordinances passover redemption honoring the sabbath day doesn't that sound like the ten commandments remember you shall have no other gods you shall not make any idols you shall not use the lord's name in vain you shall honor the sabbath day keep it holy you shall not dishonor your you shall honor your mother and your father right it's the same thing god's reiterating these same principles to his people but he's kind of emphasizing them a little more because this is a stubborn people that are going to need like that proverbial hammer on the head like, hey, dummy, listen, don't do this. so he says honor my rest verse 22 he gets back to the feast you shall celebrate the feast of weeks that is the first fruits of the wheat harvest and the feast of in gathering at the turn of the year so he's saying here again to be set apart to keep yourselves from practicing idolatry and getting caught up with the foreign lands i'm taking you to worship me like this there's three major events in the life of the israelite where you're to gather and come and worship me. That doesn't mean they don't worship any other days, but those are big events that they're to come together and make a public display, if you would, to all of the nations and all of the people. We are God's covenant people. We are in covenant with Yahweh. We go up to worship. We gather to celebrate these feasts and we rest every seventh day, right? Every six days we work and then we rest on the seventh we redeem our animals we redeem our children by sacrificing lambs and goats so there's a sacrificial system set up with them there's this observance of feasts set up with the people right this is what god is establishing with his people in the in the in the in the exodus and in the old testament and he says to them in verse 24 for i will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders and no man shall cover your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord your God. Here's something else that I think is fascinating here. This is a confirmation that Moses' prayer has been heard. What prayer Well the prayer that Moses said You can leave us Lord Please don leave us right If we're to be set apart from all other nations, you have, your presence has to be with us. You can't take your presence away from us. You cannot say that you're not going to go with us into the promised land. God answers that prayer. And how do I know? Right here. He says, for I will drive out nations before you he doesn't say an angel will because remember god has said i'm not going to go with you no more i'm going to send an angel though with you an angel will go with you to the to the promised land no in verse 24 he says i will do it so he's he's reaffirming his promise and he's going to go with them and he's going to be with them and he's going to be present with them and he's telling them for their own good this is how you worship and this is why because i'm going to go up and drive out all all the people from your borders uh no man shall cover covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord your God. Why does he add that there? Because there was an obvious danger to leave your land in this time. What happens if you left your land? It was now susceptible to a disorderly neighbor or an enemy coming to do what? And siege it and take it. To take control of it when you're gone. To rob it. to move the border stones if you would there's a verse in uh proverbs chapter 28 that talks about not moving those border stones that the lord has planted and that was a reference to this time in israel when they had a property or a place they put stones around to mark their property basically like we have today property lines right and so a big fear for the jew in this time was if i had to leave to go up to worship or to gather and go worship the Lord three times a year this wasn like us going five minutes away and then going home. A lot of times this was days, this was traveling for them, as you learn throughout the scriptures, where God would establish the temple, right, in Jerusalem, because that was going to be the place of worship. They would have to leave their lands to go up to worship, and often it was a journey. It was weeks. It was time. And God is telling them something very important. Authentic worship, true worship, true pure worship is trusting in me. When the plowing's good and the harvest is good, rest. Trust me. When I tell you three times a year to go up and worship me, ah Lord, but I'm worried about my property and what's going to happen there. What does he say? no man shall covet your land when you go up three times a year. It's God's promise to them. Worship me the way I call you to worship me and trust that I will protect all of your worries and your anxieties and your needs. That's hard, huh? That's tough. We have the same promises today and man, it's hard sometimes to really trust God. But that's what he's telling. That's how he's establishing here in his word what's true worship and what's inauthentic worship. Verse 25, he says, You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with unleavened bread, nor is the sacrifice of the feast of the Passover to be left until morning. This is pretty much verbatim from Exodus 22 and following about how they were to honor the Passover And remember he says don leave anything till morning Again that about his providence trusting in him Eat it when I tell you to Do these things to be set apart. Do these things to be identified as Yahweh's people, not the false gods of Canaan or anywhere else. And then in verse 26, we have this very funny verse, and I bet you guys remember it back from Exodus 20 and following, where it says, well, actually, I'm not there yet it's at the end of 26 but the first part of 26 says you shall bring the very first of the first fruits of your soils into the house of the Lord your God here's another sign of authentic worship obey my ordinances and my feasts that I've called you to gather and worship me redeem your animals and your children because I'm a God of redemption rest on the Sabbath day keep it holy journey three times a year to worship me at the temple and honor the Passover by not mixing any other sacrifices with it and bring your offerings before the Lord. It says, You shall bring the very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house. God is saying, What's going to mark my people as covenant with me are those people that honor the feasts that I've told them to observe, that honor the day that I've told them to keep holy. Okay? that honor the distance and the traveling of corporately coming together to worship me and those that bring and give the best that they have. That's what God is telling his people. You want to be set apart? This is what you're to do. This is how you're to do it. But I know that you're a stubborn people. And you're going to go into this other land, and they're going to show you other ways to worship, and those things are going to be pleasing to you, and instead you're going to participate there. Don't play the prostitute, selling yourself to anyone else for gain. Be loyal to me. Be exclusive to me. That's what God is telling His people. And this is how you show your exclusivity. And that's why this next verse is there, you shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk. And we talked about that when we saw that back in Exodus 23, I believe it was. There were some ceremonial laws and things not to do. That one sounded funny. The more I looked at that and the more we talk about it, foreign lands, especially in the land of Canaan, had false worship where they would take baby animals, mainly baby calves, cattle, and they would boil them in the milk of the mother cow. And that's how they would eat them. So they would milk the mother cow, get a pot of milk going, boil it, and then put that baby in that milk from its mother and boil that. And the reason was because they believed that that somehow to their false gods was appealing and pleasing and would promote fertility among their livestock. That's what they believed. They believed this mysterious, magical thing, if they put it in the milk of the mother that would bless their livestock and they would actually have more and more animals so that why god is putting this here not because it was like why is he talking about boiling because he's saying i'm getting again you're going to hear this all day i'm taking you into canaan you've already failed with the golden calf you are so prone to idolatry you need to get there tear down all the poles all the astral poles all the false gods get rid of them Wipe them out. Don't let anything remain. Because you're so susceptible and attracted to false foreign worship. Instead, be marked by true authentic worship from the one true God. Honor my feast. Rest on the Sabbath. Practice the Passover and bring your offerings from the land into the house of God. Because everything that you have comes from me. don't practice what they do in order to get more by depending on some crazy false god that says boil the baby calf in its mother's milk that's what god is saying see the context here it helps us to see that it helps us see in light of all this the reason why god is telling them these things and reiterating these things he says you're going to a foreign land and to be marked and to be known that you're my people, this is what you must do. Verse 27, And the Lord said to Moses, Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. So he was there with the Lord forty days, forty nights, and he did not eat bread or drink water It says And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant the Ten Commandments So here we have it again God reiterating his teachings to Moses. Moses writing them down. And the Bible says the Ten Commandments he wrote down. So this reiteration and this renewal of the covenant, it doesn't have all of the stuff that we read in chapter 20 and following, right? But what the author of Scripture here, what the Holy Spirit is doing is showing us that these were the principles, the overriding principles of God's law that would govern His people. And when Moses writes on the tablets, it's not just these. He's going to actually rewrite the original Ten Commandments that was given to him back in chapter 20 and all of the ceremonial laws that were given to him then. And so God was just reiterating once again to him what it is that he should do, how he should do it, so that the people would be marked as a people of God and how they were to be reminded that God's great salvation rests in the way that he's delivered his people. If you want to experience my salvation, Israel, do these things. That's what he's saying. Do all of these things. Now, real quick, the application, right, for us today, for the church. How do we apply this to the Christian life? How are we supposed to recognize these old feasts, right, and these old Passover things and the day of rest. Redemption through a lamb or firstborn and all that stuff Well the first way to do it as we know because scripture tells us is that all scripture is god breathed okay timothy says and it good for correcting for rebuking for preparing the man of god for every good work so we need to pay attention even to these warnings of israel on how not to play the harlot and how not to practice idolatry how to observe the feast and how to honor the Lord's day one of the things that I believe Christians really really take for granted is honoring the Lord's day and God here in his word is talking about how important it is to honor the day, to rest on that day and so the people needed to understand these things then and we as a church need to understand them now and God's word also tells us in in Luke Jesus tells the disciples on the road to Emmaus that they didn't recognize him he says that that Moses wrote about him and so when we read the old testament and we read the words of Moses we can apply the words of Christ to that too how is this about Jesus well for Israel at that time it was about them being prepared to go into a foreign land and not worship false gods. They obviously failed and would continue to fail, but they would continually be shown God's grace and his mercy over and over. God would deliver them and be faithful to his promise. So although they weren't witnessing Christ himself, they were experiencing Christ. they were experiencing redemption that comes only through the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. That's what Jesus would now come on the scene and say that he was the Lamb, sacrificed once and for all for the people's sin. The sacrificial system would be set up for Moses and the people of Israel as they continue to fail and sin, and then Jesus would come on the scene and say that he was the Lamb of God that took away the sin of the world, that he was really the one that the Passover pointed to, right? He was the Passover of the Old Testament. So when Israel would participate by faith in the Passover, and they would do it because God instituted it and they believed it, the Bible actually teaches that they were participating in Christ. As a matter of fact, listen to these words from Paul in 1 Corinthians 5, verses 7 and 8. speaking to the church. He says, Get rid of the old yeast, that you may be a new batch without yeast, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth. Paul was talking about the principle of keeping the Passover, right? What it really meant. If they were new believers in Christ, he was basically saying, get rid of your old life That old sinful life needs to go The same way that our forefathers worshipped God in the wilderness and they worshipped the Passover and they practiced the Passover and they made the unleavened bread without yeast. Christ is our Passover lamb. And we now are to practice the Passover by what? Getting rid of the yeast in our lives. Living the new life in Christ. Okay? Not practicing it the way they did and just doing it as a ritual. Many of them who just did it still sinful. He's saying, no, you're this new creation now. And therefore keep the festival, he was saying. Not with the old yeast, but with sincerity and with truth. And so his point was that if we've been saved with Christ, by trusting on the blood of Jesus, the Lamb who was sacrificed for our sins, well then now we need to make a clean sweep of sin in our lives, church. Get rid of it. That's what they did at the Passover. When they made the unleavened bread, they actually swept their houses to make sure there was no yeast anywhere. That's what Paul's drawing on, that image. We too now as believers in Christ, the Lamb of God, the Passover Lamb for us, we need to sweep clean our lives of sin. Get rid of it. Don't practice idolatry. Don't worship what other foreign gods do. Instead, hold to the things that God has given us. And for Israel it was what? Do these feasts. well we know that Jesus is the fulfillment of those festivals and those feasts we know that it is through Christ that the feast of weeks and the feast of ingathering as it was said and the feast of the Pentecost that was known as the Feast of Weeks We know all that happened and was fulfilled in Christ On the day of Pentecost, which would have been the Feast of Weeks, Jesus sent His Holy Spirit into the church. And the people from all the nations were saved, right? There was this great harvest of souls, if you would. So the feasts were pointing to Jesus. As a matter of fact, in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, it says that as we start to talk about the ingathering and that harvest, and God says, worship that day. Well, bring your first fruits, your best. Well, what is Jesus? According to 1 Corinthians 15, it says that the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep, this is Jesus Christ. He is our resurrection. He's the first fruits. He fulfills even that for his people. And at the end of the world, he's going to gather all who are his. so we look at these things and we understand that as christ is the first fruits as god says to his people bring the first fruits of your offerings into the house of the lord we can't do that we fail but nonetheless the call is still there for us but it's fulfilled in jesus because when paul speaks of it more as a spiritual thing it's about our salvation it's about our eternal rest it's about who christ is and what he has done for israel it was the observance of god's word and His commandments. For us, it's faith in Christ. For us, it's trusting in Him. And because of that, we fall in love with God all over again. And God is saying a people that is authentic and pure and worships me is a people that loves me and the way that people love me is that they know who I am because I have made myself known to them As a matter of fact, in 1 John it says, this is love, not that we have loved God, but that God loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Think about that for a second. if you're going to honor God in anything if you're going to observe what he's saying in the old covenant to his people to do this and tie that into the new covenant now in Christ how are we to do that? we're to know that God has made himself known to us and has sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins if you know that your hearts burst open with love for the Savior who has covered you by his blood who has redeemed you all of the things that the people were to practice have been fulfilled in jesus and so now in the new covenant church that's why jesus says this is the new covenant what in my blood in my blood now the feasts have been fulfilled the passover has been fulfilled the first fruits of the offerings have been fulfilled all of it has been done in my blood and this new covenant it's a better way of understanding the covenant between god and his people. I keep you, Jesus says, because of my blood. And because of that, honor me with cleaning out the sin in your lives. Clean it out. Tear down those idols. Rest on the Lord's day. Practice the things he has said. Not to earn salvation, but because God has secured our salvation in Christ. And that's what he was telling Israel. If you want to be set apart, this is what real worship looks like. And that's what he's telling us today. If you want to be marked as those of Christ, this is what real worship looks like. Jesus says, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. So what do we have today in the church? We have Christ and we have the Lord's Supper. And the Lord's Supper, as we're going to take right now, I hope we see it even more clearly. It's that tangible seal of God's grace upon His people. It's the gospel revealed. As they would have participated in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths, and they would have been surrounded by eating and drinking. The way the Christian observes all of that now is what? And what we're about to do. We're about to participate in the Lord's Supper. And that was what Christ said to continue to do in memory of me and what I've done for my church and how I've fulfilled all those things you're required to do. I've done it. I've put it on my back. come to me all who are are weary and heavy laden and i will give you rest it's resting in christ it's trusting in christ it's feeding on christ and so i pray today that we see that the warnings that god had to his people hit home to us because we are still church very enticed and attracted to the false gods of this world And we need to wipe clean those idols in our lives and put our faith and trust in Christ Amen Let pray Heavenly Father we thank you We thank you for your word today We thank you for once again showing us in your word that there's a way that you identify your people and set them apart. And in the Old Testament, it was marked by the ordinances, the festivals, the feasts, the things that the people of Israel were required to do. the redemption at the hands of animals and blood that was spilled to redeem children and to redeem other offspring. It was shown in the way that they brought offerings. And in those days, the offerings were always and usually dealt with food to be observed at the feast and at those times that were of necessity. And now in the days of the church, the offerings are usually monetary and what it is that we trust in, showing that we give you our best, not to earn anything, but because you've given us all and everything belongs to you. So I pray today, Lord, that we would be marked and that we would understand that to be set apart is to live a life exclusive to you, not playing the prostitute or the harlot to other false gods or even to things of our own liking or even things of our own will or our own comfort, but that we would destroy all those idols in our life and that we would come before the Lord Jesus, our God, who has redeemed us, who has purchased us and who has fulfilled all of the things required in your word for eternal life. We rest in him. We trust in him. And may our relationship be exclusive in him and only to him. May you give us the spirit to strengthen us and help us turn from all of the false worship and idols in our life so that we can bring you glory and honor you in the things that we do. To you, Lord, be all honor and glory. We thank you. And we thank you once again for your son, our Savior. and it's in the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Exodus 34:18-28