Epic

Epic: Episode 8, The Code

May 30, 2010
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Summary by Darrin Koehler

Continued from Epic 7…

After the exodus from Egypt, Moses lead his people into the wilderness where they wandered for many months. During this time, God provided for them miraculously. In the daytime, He provided them with bread from heaven (called Manna) and in the evening, Quail. God also protected them from invading peoples who attempt to destroy them. God said that He brought the Israelites to Himself “on eagles’ wings,” and said to them, “If you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” It is through the Israelite people that God intended to spread the fame and the renown His own name.

God soon established the holiness of His name and His renown among the people of Israel when He came down on the Mount of Sinai. He commanded that no one was to approach the mountain, or else they would die. He appeared in great power – in lightning and fire and dense cloud – and gave the ten commandments to the whole people of Israel:

Adapted from Exodus 20:1-17

»No other gods – Anything can be your god. This includes your job, car, house, family, friends, relationships, etc.
»No carved images – God is separate from creation. He is the creator, this world is the creation. We are not to worship creation, but only the Creator.
»Do not misuse God’s name – God’s name is very holy, and should never be used as a flippant byword.
»Keep the Sabbath holy – The Sabbath is now celebrated on Sunday instead of Saturday because it is the day that Jesus raised from the grave.
»Honor your parents – This is for both children and adults, honoring your parents from beginning to end.
»No murder – This does not apply to war or social justice, but pre-meditated, hateful murder.
»No Adultery – This is when someone who is in a covenant marriage relationship with another desires to have intimacy with someone else.
»No stealing
»No false testimony
»No coveting

God also gave a much more extensive law system to the Israelites. This included the Moral, Civil, and Ritual law. As Christians, we must understand how these laws apply to us today. The law that God gave to the Israelites was a covenant He made with that nation; that covenant, or the “Old Testament,” is not our covenant. We are now in the new covenant, or the “New Testament,” established by Jesus, who fulfilled the old covenant. When Jesus established the new covenant, he renewed only part of it: the Moral law. The Ritual law is no longer necessary because Jesus died as an atoning sacrifice that is good once for all (see the letter of Hebrews). The Civil law was not renewed because Christians living in different nations will have their own Civil law; we are not citizens of the Israelite nation.

To be continued in Epic 9…

Epic: Episode 7, Rescue Has Come

May 23, 2010
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Summary by Darrin Koehler

Continued from Epic 6…

Through chapters 6 and 11, the Scriptures teach very clearly that God is all-knowing. He knew that Pharaoh would not let the people go until after his heart was hardened. He knows past, present, and future. It is easy to get caught up, however, on the fact that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Doesn’t this mean that Pharaoh had no choice in the matter? Doesn’t this mean that Pharaoh had no chance to repent? On the contrary, God did not harden Pharaoh’s heart until after Pharaoh hardened his own heart many, many times.

Through Moses, God miraculously loosed 9 plagues in the land of Egypt, each of which was a direct message against the false gods of the Egyptians. Through each of these plagues, Pharaoh hardened his own heart. He refused God and sought out his own glory to such a great extent that he could no longer hear or receive the word of God. By this point, Pharaoh was so far from God and from repenting from his own sin that he would never hear what God would have to say. And so, as we read, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. The treasure of the word of God is far too precious to be cast upon the ears of someone bent on rejecting it.

In chapter 12 we see the beginnings of one of the most historically celebrated holidays. This, the Passover, was the last and final plague in the land of Egypt. God warned that every first born son would be put to death unless the doorpost of that household was found with the blood of a lamb spread upon it. The Pharaoh continued in arrogance, but the Israelites believed what God said and so followed His instruction. When the spirit of the Lord came to take the lives of each firstborn son, he passed over every home that had heeded the instruction. At this, finally, Pharaoh commanded the Israelites to leave. They hurried, taking all that they could carry, but Pharaoh was relentless. Though he told them to leave he still pursued them because his heart was hardened and he refused to relent. However, when the Israelites reached the other side, God commanded Moses to raise his staff and make the waters return, drowning the Egyptians who pursued them.

To be continued in Epic 8…

Epic: Episode 6, Rescue Is Coming

May 16, 2010
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Sermon Summary by Darrin Koehler

Continued from Epic 5…

Joseph and all of his brothers died, but they were very fruitful and had many sons and daughters. After several generations, the Israelite people became numerous in the land of Egypt. The Egyptians began to dread the Israelites and subject them to slave labor. However, the more harsh Pharaoh was with the Israelites, the more they multiplied. When threats and subjugation failed, he commanded the mid-wives to kill all Israelite newborn sons by throwing them into the nile river. One of these newborn sons survived, though, and was found by Pharaoh’s daughter, who took him in and named him Moses.

Moses was raised up in royalty and was not subject to the harsh labor of his people. When he was walking about in the streets one night, he witnessed an Egyptian task-master beating down an Israelite. Moses took justice into his own hands and killed the overbearing Egyptian. Once Pharaoh found out about this he wanted Moses dead, and so Moses fled for his life into the land of Midian.

Moses spent almost 40 years in the land of Midian, during which time he married Zipporah and became a shepherd. His stay ended, however, when God called out to him from within a burning bush. God called Moses to return to Egypt and free his people from the bonds of slavery.

But Pharaoh did not acknowledge the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and as Moses demanded that Pharaoh let them go, Pharaoh only became more harsh with the Israelites. Seeing this, Moses cried out to God for wisdom and direction. God said, concerning the Israelites, “I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant…. I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slave to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgement. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.” (Exodus 6:5-7). This marks the beginning of the renowned exodus of God’s people from Egypt. Rescue is coming.

To be continued in Epic 7…

Epic: Episode 5, A Slave Becomes King

May 9, 2010
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Summary by Darrin Koehler

Continued from Epic 4…

Abraham’s son Isaac then had a son, and he named him Jacob. It was through Jacob’s line that God continued his plan of redemption, promising that the whole world would be blessed. Jacob, having wrestled with God, was given a new name – Isreal. His twelve sons would become the twelve tribes of Isreal.

However, Israel loved his son Joseph more than all the others. When Joseph had a dream implying that he would rule over all his brothers, they were filled with envy, and they plotted to kill him. Instead, they sold him into slavery hoping to never see him again, thinking that he was as good as dead.

From there, he was sold to Potifer. who trusted Joseph and put him in charge of his whole house. But Potifer’s wife admired him and tried to seduce him on more than a few occasions. When Joseph ran from her for the last time, she grabbed his coat and used it as evidence to accuse him of forcing himself on her. For this, Joseph was thrown into prison where he interpreted a dream for the cupbearer. He asked the cupbearer to remember him when he returned to serving Pharaoh, but he does not. Joseph, then, sat in prison for two more years. One night, however, Pharaoh had dreams that he could not understand. He asked if anyone could interpret them, but to no avail. It is then that the cupbearer remembered Joseph and mentioned him to Pharaoh. Joseph was able to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, and predicted that Egypt would experience seven years of plenty before enduring seven years of famine. At this, Pharaoh made him second in command over all of Egypt. Soon enough, Egypt was the only country with food.

It is during this time that Joseph’s brothers come to buy grain. Though they meant evil buy selling him into slavery, God meant it for good; the dream that Joseph had about ruling over his brothers would be fulfilled, and the line of Jacob would be saved because of it. Throughout his life, Joseph’s view of God always remained clear; he considered God sovereign and good, even though he experienced toil and pain for a great share of his life. Even so, this story is more so about God and how he fulfills his promises. If Joseph hadn’t endured this, Israel would have been stamped out of history and the promise of a savior along with it. Jesus’ line would have never been established and the salvation of the world forgone.

These events take place in Genesis chapters 37 through 45. Read the full story

Epic: Episode 4, A Nation is Born

May 2, 2010
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Summary by Darrin Koehler

It is with Abraham that we begin to see the narrative of God to redeem humanity really take shape. When he was at the age of 75, God called out to him, saying, “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. 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.” (Gen. 12:2,3) But before this would be realized, Abraham’s faith would be challenged. Abraham questioned God because he had no son of his own, yet God promised, “your very own son shall be your heir,” saying, “‘Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them…. So shall your offspring be.’ And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”

This does indeed show that God desires faith, and that the righteous shall live by faith. However, Abraham becomes impatient when he and his wife do not have a child. His wife says to him, “the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” (Gen. 16:2) But this was not God’s plan. As a result of this, Abraham had a son named Ishmael who would stand as an adversary to Israel for many years. But God was gracious, and he still fulfilled his promise. He said about Abraham’s wife: “I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her…. You shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant.”

It happened just as God said. Abraham’s wife had a child and they named him Isaac. But that’s not where this story ends. Abraham would face yet another test of faith. God commanded Abraham, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” What a command! Yet Abraham did not hesitate; he had such faith that in Hebrews 11:17 we read, “Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead.” However, God did not allow Abraham to kill his son Isaac. There at the alter, knife in hand, the Angel of the Lord called out to Abraham, saying, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And so the Lord provided instead a ram as a burnt offering in the place of Isaac.

We know now that the purpose of this gut-wrenching scene in history was to foreshadow the coming of Jesus Christ, and how he would be given as the Father’s only son as a sacrifice to save the whole world.

John 8:56-59»
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