The Story of God: God Creates a Nation
Exodus 16-18
When you study the history of nations, comparing all the civilizations that have ever existed, there is one nation that is unique: the nation of Israel.
How many nations have literature thousands of years old which still forms their identity today – as with Israel and the Old Testament?
How many nations believe that God supernaturally created them as a nation?
How many nations have the continuity of Israel, who for 3,500 years has had the same language, same customs, same land?
How many nations have prospered as much as Israel – during Solomon’s reign silver was as common as stone (1Ki 10:27)?
How many nations have suffered as much as Israel – the nation was deported by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC, Jerusalem was destroyed by Rome in 70 AD, and millions were killed by Hitler in World War II?
It’s clear that Israel as a nation is unique. And the Bible says that the reason Israel is unique is because God created Israel as a nation and chose Israel to be His people. And the question I want us to think about this morning is – why did God create a nation and choose a nation? For 1,500 years before Christ came, God focused on a nation. Why?
Let’s start by looking at how God formed this nation. How did God create the nation of Israel? Turn to Genesis 12:1-3. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we’ll bring one to you. Genesis 12 is on page 8 in the Bibles we are passing out. We are left in Genesis 10-11 with a world in which no one trusts or obeys God. And what does God do?
God chooses to save a godless moon-worshiper named Abraham. In great mercy, God changes Abraham’s heart so he owns up to the truth of the one true God (forget this moon-worshiping!), and loves and trusts God. And look at what God says to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 –
1 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
And Abraham trusted God’s promises, and obeyed God.
But there was a problem. How can Abraham become a nation, when his 90-year old wife, Sarah, was unable to have children, and Abraham was over 100 years old -- way too old to have children (Rom 4:19)? But God miraculously enabled Sarah to give birth to Isaac. Then Isaac married Rebekah, who was also unable to have children (Gen 25:21). But God miraculously enabled Rebekah to give birth to Jacob; then Jacob had twelve sons, from whom the entire nation of Israel was formed.
But the nation of Israel ended up as slaves in Egypt entirely under Pharaoh’s control. So it looks like Israel will be destroyed like other enslaved nations throughout history. But as we saw a few weeks ago, God supernaturally delivered Israel from Egypt. Remember the ten plagues God brought upon Egypt, and how God parted the Red Sea, and delivered Israel?
That’s how God created the nation of Israel, and chose them to be His people. Look at how Moses states this in Deu 7:6 (p.152)–
"For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
So why did God choose Israel? Is it because they’re more righteous and spiritual than any other nation? No. Look at what God says in Deu 9:6 (page 153) –
"Know, therefore, that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people.
Not only are they not righteous – they were a stubborn, sinful, people. In fact, as we will see next week, all through their history the majority of Israel would not trust God.
So why did God choose them? Maybe it was because they were bigger than any other nation. No. Look back at ch.7 vs.7 --
It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples,
Israel was a tiny, sinful, nation. So why did God choose them? Look at v.8 –
… but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
It’s because God loved them. Not for any reason in them; they were a small, sinful nation. But God’s love is a very different kind of love – a love which delights to do astonishing good for completely undeserving people.
So God set His love on this small, sinful nation – and chose them to be His people.
But why? Why did God focus on a nation? For 1,500 years before the coming of Jesus the Messiah, God focused His attention mostly on one nation – the nation of Israel. Since the birth of Jesus, God is focusing on all the nations. But before the coming of Jesus God focused on one nation. Why?
Look first at Ezekiel 5:5 (p.694) –
"Thus says the Lord GOD: This is Jerusalem. I have set her in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.
So God formed Israel and intentionally put her in the center of all the nations. Here’s all the nations – and God put Israel right in the center. Why? It’s so all the other nations would notice Israel.
It’s like if you wanted someone to be noticed, at the start of the Super Bowl you could put them right in the center of the stadium – so everyone will see them. That’s what God did. He put Israel right in the center of the nations – so all the nations would notice Israel. And what did he want them to notice about Israel?
Look at Deuteronomy 4:5-8 (p.148). Moses is talking to Israel --
5 See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.' 7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? 8 And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?
So God formed Israel and put her in the center of the nations. The nations are all watching. And the nations notice something amazing: whenever Israel calls upon God – God responds. Our gods don’t ever respond! But Israel’s God responds! And they notice the harmony and love and that’s in Israel – which shows how righteous God’s laws are. So all the nations see: Israel’s God is the true God: He’s near to all who call on Him and He gives good and wise commands.
But for this to happen, God had to have a nation. God had to have a nation that the other nations could notice. That’s why God formed Israel and placed her in the center of the nations.
Look also at 2 Samuel 7:23 (p.260). David is talking to God; look at what he says:
And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods?
God forms Israel, delivers her from Egypt, and sets her in the center of the nations – why? To make Himself a name among all the nations. To display His mercy and power and glory to all the earth – including you and me.
It’s like Israel is a disco ball in the middle of the dance floor. God wants us and all the nations to know who He is. God wants us to have a live, flesh-and-blood, in-our-face display of who God is. So for 1500 years God set Israel smack-dab in the center of the nations – so that through Israel all the nations, and we ourselves, can see with our own eyes
how real God is – parting the Red Sea.
how near God is – hearing barren Hannah when she cries out to God.
how forgiving God is – forgiving David for adultery and murder.
how just God is – destroying Jerusalem for her idolatry in 586 BC.
how gracious God is – God allows Israel to return and rebuild Jerusalem .
That’s why God worked through a nation for 1500 years – so we could see who God is!
Notice how this fits with God’s overall purpose. We’ve seen in past weeks that everything God does is to display His glory – so He can share with us the joy of beholding His glory. You will never be more satisfied, more secure, more humbled, more thrilled, more loved, more excited – than when you behold God.
And to help you do that – God has put a disco ball in the center of the nations, in the Bible – so we can behold Him. In I Cor 10:11 Paul says that Israel’s history occurred and was written – for us! So open the Old Testament and feast on God – drink in God – behold God – worship God!
So let’s do this together. What do we learn about God as He leads Israel to Sinai? That’s what happens next. Look at Exodus 15 (page 57). God freed Israel from Egypt, led them across the Red Sea, and he’s leading them through the wilderness to Sinai. And God’s purpose in all this is to show us more of who He is.
So what do we learn about God as He leads Israel to Sinai?
First, God provides for His people. You can see this starting in ch.15:22. After crossing the Red Sea on dry land, Israel heads into the wilderness, and in three days they are out of water. A million people – out of water. That’s a problem. Then they come to water, but it’s not drinkable. So what happens? Moses cries out to God, God has him throw a log into the water, and the water becomes drinkable.
Then in ch.16 they are 45 days into the wilderness and they’re out of food. And God does something astonishing. Every morning God causes manna – like bread – to appear on the ground. And every evening God causes quail – fresh meat! -- to drop all around their camp.
Then again in ch.17 the people are out of water. And Moses cries out to God, and God tells him to strike a rock with his staff; and when Moses does so, water pours out.
So God wants you to understand: God provides for His people. Now that Jesus has come, you become one of God’s people by trusting Him. So if you are trusting Jesus, then God will provide for all your needs. What you worried about, or afraid of, right now? If you are trusting Jesus, God will provide whatever you need. Trust Him.
Then second, God responds to His people when they pray. In ch.17 v.8 Amalek and his armies attack Israel. And as Israel’s armies fight, Moses lifts his hands to God in prayer. When Moses has his hands lifted, Israel prevails; but when Moses’ hands get tired, Amalek prevails. So Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands, and Israel prevails until they defeat Amalek.
The point isn’t that when we pray we have to raise our hands (although that can be helpful). The point is that God responds when we pray. When we pray, God responds, and when we don’t most of the time He doesn’t.
Some of you have been facing Amalekites, but your hands have not been lifted in prayer, and the Amalekites are prevailing. But if, through Jesus, you will pray and cry out to God – He will hear, He will prevail, and you will have whatever you need.
But at this point the nations seeing this and reading this might have a question. All this is great news for Israel. But what about the rest of us? Can we know God in this way?
That’s the third truth: God welcomes Gentiles who trust Him. You can see this in Exo 18. Moses’ father-in-law was a Midianite, which means he was not one of God’s people. In fact, we read in 18:1 that he was a Midianite priest – which means that he worshiped false gods. But in v.8 we read that Moses shares the gospel with Jethro –
Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the LORD had delivered them.
And in vv.10-11 we see that Jethro turns away from his idols and puts His trust in God –
10 Jethro said, "Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods, because in this affair they [the Egyptians] dealt arrogantly with the people."
And look at what he does in v.12 –
And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God.
Why did Jethro bring a burnt offering and sacrifices? It’s because Moses had shared the gospel with Jethro. He explained that Jethro had turned his back on God and faced God’s punishment – just like all of us.
But Moses went on to explain that in great mercy, God made a way for Jethro’s sins to be put on another, and for his sins to be punished in another – that’s what the animal sacrifices pictured. So Jethro repented of his sin, turned to the true God and trusted Him, and offered a sacrifice. And as a result Jethro was completely forgiven, his heart was changed by God’s power, and he became part of God’s people.
So even though God had chosen Israel as His people, a Midianite idol-worshiping priest could become part of God’s people -- can be brought into relationship with the living God -- through turning to God and trusting His mercy.
And the same is true today. We now know that the animal sacrifices pointed ahead to what Jesus would do on the Cross. Your sins can be punished in another – in Jesus. So if you will repent of sin, and trust Jesus completely, you will be forgiven, your heart will be changed, and you will become part of God’s people.
Questions?
This week, take time to feast on God as He is revealed through Israel in the Old Testament.
And remember: God provides for His people. God responds to His people when they pray. And God welcomes Gentiles who trust Him.