Transcript

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 17-19 NLV; Ch. 20 NASB

Associate Producer

Jørn Rune Reinertsen

Podcast Introduction

Today is the Law Monday, and we’ll read Exodus 17-20. The show title is ˆFear Not.”

Comments on Exodus 20

Let’s focus on verse 2 of chapter 20, which says, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”

God spoke these words, and the entire Ten Commandments, to Moses, who was to take them to the people. And God Himself wrote these 10 laws on two stone tablets. It was not Moses who wrote on the tablets, it was God.

Let’s break this sentence down, shall we? There is a tremendous amount of information that we can glean from these words.

“I am the Lord your God…” God is asserting his authority, his right, to establish the Law to which you must be bound. The reason you must be obedient to this Law is that 1) God is the Lord, Jehovah, self-existent, independent, eternal, and the source of everything that is. Therefore, He has the absolute right to rule. 2) He was their God, in covenant, or agreement with them. They agreed to this arrangement. 

“…who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” Therefore they were bound to obey Him out of gratitude, because He delivered them out of terrible slavery into a liberty they had never known. He redeemed them, and in doing so He had even greater right to rule them. They owed Him their service, their very lives. 

Jesus redeemed us, beloved. And we owe Him our lives, and our service, as well. He freed us from the bondage of sin and death. Out of gratitude and love, we owe Him our very best in all we do. 

The relationship we have with God through Christ is not the same as the one established on Mount Sinai. The people were terrified when they heard the thunder and saw the smoke. They told Moses that they did not want to face God. But Jesus said in John 15:15, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” And in Mark chapter 3 Jesus said we are his brothers, if we do God’s will.

Beloved, if we follow Jesus, God is not a God to be terrified of like the children of Israel were when they heard the thunder and saw the smoke at Mount Sinai. Yes, we should have a healthy respect and awe, but not the kind of terror that comes from the uncertainty of an irrational, unreasonable, unpredictable force. God can be surprising, but He has revealed Himself to us through His Word, and we know above all, that He is love, according to 1 John 4:8.

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Transcript

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Transcript corrected by Sister Denise

Steve Webb 0:00
I have called you friends.

Steve Webb 0:09
Coming to you from Riverside, California, this is the Lifespring! One Year Bible, and podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily podcast where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year and it’s The Law Monday. We’ll read Exodus 17 through 20. And I’m calling today’s episode “Fear Not.” After the reading and my thoughts on the reading. I’ve got a couple of comments to share with you today. But before we read, let’s pray. Our heavenly Father, how we thank you again for our time together around your Word and we ask, Lord, that you bless this time. Teach us, touch our hearts, and show us how we can apply today’s reading to our lives today. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen. All right, are you ready to begin? Let’s go.

Steve Webb 0:57
Exodus, chapter 17. All the people of Israel left the Desert of Sin, traveling from one place to another as the Lord told them. They set up their tents at Rephidim. But there was no water for the people to drink. So the people argued with Moses, saying, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you argue with me? Why do you test the Lord?” But the people were thirsty there for water. They complained against Moses, saying, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and animals with thirst?” So Moses called to the Lord, saying, “What should I do with these people? They are almost ready to throw stones at me.” The Lord said to Moses, “Pass in front of the people and take some of the leaders of Israel with you. Take the special stick in your hand with which you hit the Nile, and go. See, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb. When you hit the rock, water will come out of it and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, with the leaders of Israel watching. He called the name of the place Massah and Meribah because of the arguing of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” Then Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us. And go out and fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the special stick of God in my hand.” Joshua did as Moses told him. He fought against Amalek. And Moses, Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill. When Moses held up his hand, Israel would be winning. But when he let his hand down, Amalek would win. Moses’ hands became tired. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on each side. His hands did not move until the sun went down. So Joshua destroyed Amalek and his people with the sword. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this in a book, to be remembered, and tell Joshua that I will take away everything under the sun that would help you remember Amalek.” Moses built an altar and gave it the name The Lord is My Banner. And he said, “Because the Lord has promised to have war against Amalek through all time.”

Steve Webb 3:22
Exodus, chapter 18. Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, the religious leader of Midian, heard about all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people. He heard about how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, had taken Moses’ wife, Zipporah, after Moses had sent her away. And he had taken her two sons. One was given the name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a strange land.” The other was given the name Eliezer, for he said, “The God of my father was my help. And He saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.” Then Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, came to Moses with his sons and his wife to the desert by the mountain of God where he was staying. He sent the news to Moses, “I, your father-in-law, Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.” Then Moses went to meet his father-in-law. He bowed down and kissed him. They asked each other if all was well, and went into the tent. Moses told his father-in-law all the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians because of Israel. He told him about how they had suffered on the way, and how the Lord had saved them. Jethro was glad because of all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in saving them from the hand of the Egyptians. So Jethro said, “Honor and thanks be to the Lord, Who saved you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and Who made you free from the power of Egypt. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods. It was proven when they acted in their pride against the people.” Then Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, gave a burnt gift in worship to God. And Aaron came with all the leaders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God. The next day Moses sat to judge the people. And the people stood around Moses from morning until evening. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you do for the people? Why do you sit alone and judge and all the people stand around you from morning until evening?” Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to learn God’s will. When they argue, they come to me. And I judge between a man and his neighbor. I teach them the Laws of God.” Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will become tired and weak. For the work is too much for you. You cannot do it alone. Now listen to me. I will tell you what you should do, and God be with you. You speak for the people before God. Bring the troubles to God. Then teach them the Laws. Make them know the way they must walk and the work they must do. Also, you should choose from the people able men who fear God, men of truth who hate to get things by doing wrong. Have these men rule over the people, as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. Let them judge the people at all times. Have all the big troubles brought to you. But have them judge the small troubles. So it will be easier for you. They will share the work with you. If you do this and God tells you to do it, then you will be able to keep your strength. And all these people will go to their place in peace.” Moses listened to his father-in-law, and did all that he had said. Moses chose able men out of all Israel. And he made them leaders over the people, leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. They judged the people at all times. They would bring the big troubles to Moses. But they would judge every small trouble themselves. Then Moses let his father-in-law return to his own land.

Steve Webb 7:19
Exodus, chapter 19. In the third month after the people of Israel left Egypt, they came to the Sinai Desert on the same day. They had left Rephidim and had come to the Sinai Desert. There Israel set up their tents in front of the mountain. And Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Say this to the house of Jacob and tell the people of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now then, if you will obey My voice and keep My agreement, you will belong to Me from among all nations. For the earth is Mine. You will be to Me a nation of religious leaders, a holy nation.’ These are the words you will speak to the people of Israel.” So Moses came and called the leaders of the people. He told them all these words which the Lord had told him. And all the people answered together and said, “We will do all that the Lord has said!” Then Moses went to tell the Lord what the people had said. The Lord said to Moses, “See, I will come to you in a thick cloud. So the people may hear when I speak with you, and may believe you forever.” Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said. The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people. Today and tomorrow set them apart to be holy. Have them wash their clothes. And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day people will see the Lord come down on Mount Sinai. Let the people know the places all around that they must not pass. Tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not go up on the mountain or touch any place around it. Whoever touches the mountain will be put to death. No hand will touch him. But he will be killed with stones or arrows. If he be animal or man, he will not live.’ When a long sound from a horn is heard, they may come up to the mountain.” So Moses went down from the mountain to the people. He set the people apart to be holy, and they washed their clothes. He said to the people, “Be ready for the third day. Do not go near a woman.” On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning. A cloud covered the mountain, and a very loud horn sounded. All the people among the tents shook with fear. Then Moses brought the people from among the tents to meet God. They stood at the base of the mountain. Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord came down upon it in fire. Its smoke went up like the smoke of a stove. And the whole mountain shook. The sound of the horn became louder and louder. Moses spoke, and God answered him with thunder. Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. The Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and he went up. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and tell the people not to break through to look at the Lord. For then many of them would be destroyed. Have the religious leaders who come near to the Lord set themselves apart to be holy. Or the Lord will go against them.” Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai. For You told us, ‘Set places around the mountain that must not be passed, and set it apart as holy.’” Then the Lord said to him, “Go down, and then come up with Aaron. But do not let the religious leaders and the people break through to come up to the Lord, or He will go against them.” So Moses went down to the people and told them.

Steve Webb 10:50
Exodus, chapter 20. Then God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. “You shall not murder. “You shall not commit adultery. “You shall not steal. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance. Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.” So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven. You shall not make other gods besides Me; gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves. You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. If you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it. And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that your nakedness will not be exposed on it.’

Steve Webb 14:03
Let’s focus on verse 2 of chapter 20, which we just read, it says, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” God spoke those words and the entire ten commandments to Moses who was to take them to the people. And God himself wrote these ten laws on two stone tablets. It was not Moses who wrote on the tablets. It was God. Now, let’s break this sentence down, shall we? There’s a tremendous amount of information that we can glean from these words. So it begins, “I am the Lord your God.” Here God is asserting his authority, his right to establish the law to which the people of Israel must be bound. The reason they must be obedient to this law is that, number one, God is the Lord, Jehovah, self-existent, independent, eternal, and the source of everything that is. Therefore he has the absolute right to rule. And number two, he was their God in covenant or agreement with them. They agreed to this arrangement. And then he continued, “…who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” So, therefore, they were bound to obey him out of gratitude, because he delivered them out of terrible slavery into a liberty that they had never known. He redeemed them, and in doing so, he had an even greater right to rule them. They owed him their service, their very lives. Now, Jesus redeemed us and we owe him our lives and our service as well. He freed us from the bondage of sin and death. Out of gratitude, and out of love, we owe him our very best in all we do. The relationship we have with God through Christ is not the same as the one established on Mount Sinai. Remember from our reading today, the people were terrified when they heard the thunder and saw the smoke. They told Moses that they did not want to face God. But Jesus said in John 15:15, “I no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” And then in Mark chapter 3, Jesus said, we are his brothers, if we do God’s will. Beloved, if we follow Jesus, God is not a God to be terrified of like the children of Israel were when they heard the thunder and saw the smoke at Mount Sinai. Yes, we should have a healthy respect and awe, but not the kind of terror that comes from the uncertainty of an irrational, unreasonable, unpredictable force. God can be surprising, but he has revealed himself to us through his Word. And we know, above all, that according to 1 John 4:8, “God is love.” Since we are his and because he is love, we have no need to fear him. What do you think? Call the Lifespring Family Hotline at +1-951-732-8511. Tell me what you think. You can also comment at comment.lifespringmedia.com, or if you want to email me, you’re welcome to do that as well, st***@*************ia.com. Tomorrow will be History Tuesday, and we are going to read 2 Samuel 5 through 9.

Steve Webb 17:39
This comment came in just a couple of days ago.

LeeAnn Webb 17:41
Hello, my love. I was just listening to the Mark scripture reading and your commentary. And I hadn’t really given much thought to the fact that the fragrance from Mary’s offering to him had probably continued through his crucifixion. And I can only imagine, as you stated, what a sweet thing that would have been for him to be able to remember her and the love of the friendship they shared. So I just want to say thanks for sharing that. And I hope everybody else got some great value from this, too. Love you all. Bye.

Steve Webb 18:13
That of course, was my wife, the Lovely Lady LeeAnn. I shouldn’t be surprised at all that this resonated with her because she loves wearing perfume and she loves aromatic candles. Thank you for calling in, Sweetheart. And this comment came in today from James Garner. He says, “I started listening to you after hearing a plug either hearing from you or a knight on ‘No Agenda.’ I had started working through the Bible late last year I knew I wanted to read the Bible in a year because I have never actually read it, even though I was forced to go to church most of my young life. I figured before I could say I do or do not believe in XYZ then I should actually know what XYZ is. Anyway, why I’m writing is you don’t need a subscription to Spotify to listen to Joe Rogan. You just download Spotify. Search Joe Rogan and his show pops up. Scroll through the episodes and pick out what you want. I do this about once a month and search out scientists, etc. that interest me and listen. I don’t have the time or care to listen to comedians as I tend to use podcasting for learning more than just passing time. Anyway, thought you should know. Also, if you’re doing a yearly Bible thing, why do you not start day one on, well, day one,” he writes. Well, thank you for the note, James, and welcome to the Lifespring family. Glad to have you here from the “No Agenda” show. And thank you for telling me that I should be able to hear the Rogan podcast on Spotify. So here’s the deal. I have a free account and I was thinking that since it wouldn’t play then it must be something that is only for people that pay Spotify. Well, when your note came in, I started digging around in my Spotify app that I have here on my computer (I don’t have it on my cell phone) but I couldn’t get it to play. So, then I thought, “Well, I wonder…” and I looked in the settings and I had explicit content turned off. Once I turned that on, then I could hear the Joe Rogan podcast. So thank you, James, for letting me know about that. And now about the schedule that we use for reading the Bible here on the show. I’d been doing the show for many years. And at one point, I just decided that I was through. So there was a couple of years or so that I wasn’t doing any podcasting at all. And then COVID happened and around about, if I remember, right, June of the first year of COVID, I felt the Lord sort of tap me on the shoulder and say, “It’s time to get back to work, Steve.” So because of everything that was going on in the world, I really felt that it was time to start this show up again. And like I said, this was around June. I don’t remember exactly when I started doing the show again. I believe it was June. So I’ve learned that when the Lord leads me to do something, I should do it, post haste. I didn’t want to say, “Well, Lord, wait ’til January, and I can start on day one there.” And so when that first season back ended, I took a month or so off and began another season. And so this year we started in what was it September, I think? So that’s why day one of the reading this season started not in January, but in September of last year. It’s a good question, though. Now in terms of not reading from Genesis to Revelation, cover-to-cover, as it were, I use the schedule that we use so that every day of the week we are in a different section of the Bible. The first time I tried to read through the Bible myself and… and failed, I started in Genesis, and I didn’t last very long, maybe two or three months if that, because some of those Old Testament books get, well, kind of heavy and dry, and I like mixing it up. I like the schedule that we’re on. As you know on Sundays, we read from the Epistles, on Mondays, we read from the Law, on Tuesdays, we read from history, on Wednesdays, we read the Psalms. Thursdays, we read from one of the books of poetry. Fridays, we read from one of the books of prophecy, and Saturdays, we read from the Gospels. I think it’s a nice mix. So James, thank you so much for your note. I’ve begun listening to that episode now that I figured out how to do it. And I hope I answered your question.

Steve Webb 22:25
Today’s Associate Producer is Jørn Rune Reinertsen, who sent in his weekly $5 donation. Thank you, Jørn. God bless you. And to the entire Lifespring family, thank you for your prayers and for being here every day. If the show’s a blessing to you, please pray about how the Lord would have you support it. This is a scriptural principle. Supporting those who bring you spiritual nourishment is taught throughout God’s Word. If you’re learning, if you’re challenged, if you’re encouraged by the show, if you’d be willing to help bring God’s Word to a world that needs him, please go to lifespringmedia.com/support. I’ll thank you and I believe God’ll bless you. Wednesday is our next prayer request and praise day. Call in your prayer request or praise at 951-732-8511, or go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com, or email me at st***@*************ia.com. I’ll pray for you in my personal quiet time, and we’ll pray together on the show. Prayer.lifespringmedia.com.

Steve Webb 23:36
Thanks to the team, Denise who corrects the transcripts, Michael Haner who does the chapters, Scott Snider and Jason Paschall who do the episode art, and Brittaney who does the newsletter. Thank you, guys. God bless you. Today’s show art is by Jason Paschall. Thank you, Jason. And that’ll do it for the day. Can’t wait to see you again, tomorrow. Until then, may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb. Fear not. Bye.

Announcer 24:05
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Transcribed by https://otter.ai