Address—G.H. Hayhoe
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Like to turn tonight to the book of Exodus and the 17th chapter, Exodus chapter 17.
Beginning at the first verse, then all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of sin after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in, and there was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore the the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them.
Why Chai Ji with me? Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? And the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses and said.
Wherefore is this, that thou has brought us up out of Egypt to kill us, and our children, and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? They be almost ready to stone me. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel, and thy rod, where with thou smote us the river.
Taking mine hand and gull, behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb.
Thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel, and he called the name of the place Massa and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us or not? Then came Amalek, and thought with Israel in Raphidim. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out, men, and go out.
With Amalek tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron and her went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed. When he looked down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses hands were heavy, and they took a stone and put it under him. And.
Sat thereon and Aaron and her stayed up his hands, the one and the one side and the other on the other side.
And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomforted Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, For I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah Nissi. For he said, Because the Lord has sworn that the Lord will have.
With Amalek from generation to generation. Well, I think we all know that the passage of the children of Israel through the wilderness, as we were mentioning last night, it's a picture to us of our passage on our way home to glory. We know that the children of Israel were sheltered in Egypt from the judgment by that blood that was sprinkled on the lentil and the two side pulse. And I say again how important it is that every one of us should know this.
That we should be sheltered by the precious blood of Christ. There's no other way of escape from judgment.
But then they started out on this wilderness journey, and there are many things for them to learn along the way.
They came to marrow where there was the waters were bitter and the tree had to be cast in saw that the bitter waters could be made sweet. And we come to bitter experiences in life. And as someone has put it like this, we cannot always see God's love in our circumstances, but we can always see His love revealed at the cross. There may be times in life where it's hard for us to see how God and His love would allow such and such a.
But we have to do like Moses, we have to go back and say, well, I know he loved me. He proved it by giving his Son to die for me. So if there's any one and you come to Mara and bitter experiences have come in your life, remember God has proven his love to you. He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. How shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
And next they came to Elam.
And there were 12 wells of water and three score and 10 palm trees. I've always enjoyed that because 12 wells of water seems as though God were showing that there was one for every one of the tribes. And so we might think, well, the Lord seems to undertake for some people, but not for me.
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But isn't it nice to see there was one for each of the tribes? And we know the Lord Jesus as our high priest bears the names of all his people upon his breast and upon his shoulders of strength. So there was one for each of the tribes. And perhaps we could think of those 3 score and 10 palm trees as representing life, because the scripture says the days of our years are three score years and 10. So it's just as if the Lord were saying.
I'm going to care for you all through life. Then we can say like the psalmist, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever. And then too, when we come to the 16th chapter, we see that how he provided food for them, the manna that fell, they had to gather that manna every day.
And it's very lovely also to see that previous to the giving of the law.
Whenever they murmured, God came in and met them in grace after the law was given. When they murmured, God had to deal with them in judgment. But before the law was given, whenever they murmured, God met them in grace. As soon as they put themselves under law, they were practically saying, we're going to get the blessing because we deserve it, because we've earned it. And so God had to show them that there was no blessing on that ground.
And let's remember this, dear fellow Christians.
That when we claim anything from the Lord, let's claim it on the ground of pure sovereign grace. Never come to the Lord as though I've been a faithful Christian. The Lord should bless me because we're asking for it on the wrong ground. That's not grace. Grace is God's undeserved favor.
When that woman said that she was willing to take her place as a dog in the Gospels, the Lord said, oh woman, great is thy faith, be it under thee even as thou wilt. In other words, if God is going to bless, he only has one principle on which He can bless poor guilty sinners or failing Saints, and that's on the ground of pure grace. We need to always remember that, and so we don't want to be like Hezekiah.
Hezekiah pleaded for life on this ground. He said to the Lord.
I walked before thee with a perfect heart. And so he thought the Lord, because of this, should add years to his life. So perhaps we could put it like this. It's as though the Lord said, well, all right, Hezekiah, I'll add 15 years to your life and we'll test that perfect heart.
Well, what happened we only know too well for Hezekiah, the recorded failure of his life was in those added years he pleaded something on the ground of his own faithfulness. Oh, isn't it blessed? We're saved by grace. We stand in grace, and it's grace that will be brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus Christ. So God provided the manner and it fell every day all through their journeys. He. He met them in.
He provided for their needs, of course they were to go out and gather it day by day.
But it showed God's patient grace with them. And when we come to this chapter.
It begins here by telling us that it was by the commandment of the Lord that they pitched in a raphidim and there was number water for the people to drink. To me this is very interesting. We were talking last night about how the Lord guided the people by His commandment and by that cloud. And here we see that it was actually by the commandment of the Lord that they came to refit him where there was no water for the people to drink.
And you and I might think when we come to a certain spot in life where there just seem to be, there seems to be trouble, or there doesn't seem to be any refreshment. It just seems as if there's nothing that would satisfy our weary souls. We might say, did I make a mistake? How come that I'm here? It wasn't any mistake that they were there. It was by the commandment of the Lord that they came to fit him. This shows that the Lord sometimes brings.
To the point where our faith is put to the test because it tells us in Peter.
The trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found under praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Faith is put to the test when we're in a situation that we can't see any outlet ourselves. Were cast thoroughly upon God, and that confidence in Him glorifies him. He delights in it. Some of us are parents.
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And if there's a situation arises and we ask the child to do something and say.
Well, I can't tell you why now, but I'll explain to you later. And the child gladly and willingly obeys without an explanation. Just because they trust us, doesn't that please us? Doesn't it rejoice our hearts that there's that willingness to obey? Well, the Lord values that too. And He brought them to refit Him. He brought them there to test them.
Would they trust him? He had provided for them and delivered them from judgment in Egypt.
He had provided for them when they stood with the Red Sea in front of them and their enemies behind them. He had brought them through when there was no water, and when there was bitter water, He had made the bitter water sweet. When there was no bread, He had provided it. Surely they could trust Him now. But they seem to forget all that, just like we do. We forget all His goodness in the past, and we meet a fresh difficulty and we say, how are we going to get through this?
Well, he brought them to refer them. It was by the commandment of the Lord. But you know, when we get in such a spot, we're very likely to do just what Israel did here. They began to think of who they could blame, and there had to be somebody that was to blame for this situation. And so they turned and started to blame Moses. Isn't that like us, too? We got into a situation, we look around, there must be somebody to blame, somebody else's fault or something.
Instead of accepting it from the Lord.
Isn't it different with Paul? There he was in prison, a prisoner under Nero. But does he say I'm the prisoner of Nero? He said I Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ is not lovely. He accepted the situation as from the Lord. Daniel was a captive in Babylon, but he said it was the Lord that gave us into the hand of the king of Babylon. He accepted the situation as from the Lord.
And that's why we talk about first causes and 2nd causes. The second cause may be somebody that was, as far as we can see, the cause of it. But the first cause is the Lord allowed it. And it's a good thing for us, brethren, when situations arise to look at the first cause and the first, 'cause I say again, is always the Lord.
His hand is in everything adverse or pleasant. Everything is in his hands and so.
When they murmured and chided with Moses, he said, Wherefore Dean kept the Lord. For in doing this they were really blaming the Lord for bringing them to refit them. It was His hand that brought them there, and Moses was simply acting as their guide and leader. But the Lord had given the commandment. Well, then, we see in the third verse what happened when they began to murmur and when they were discouraged.
They said to Moses, Wherefore it is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst. There's never a greater tendency with us to turn aside into the world when we're discouraged than when we're discouraged about our circumstances. I believe that Satan is a roaring lion in discouragement. Sometimes he is spoken of as a roaring lion in persecution.
But in first Peter Five we find that Satan is a roaring lion, not in persecution there.
But in discouragement, first Peter 5 and verse seven says casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. The next verse says, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil like is a like a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour. Persecuted Christians are usually happy Christians, but not discouraged Christians.
No Satan's really got a handle to work upon once we get discouraged.
Because he will always try to tell us, well, you should try the world. You should turn aside. You've been a little bit too careful about following the Lord. You might as well just ease up a little bit and go along with the world. And that's exactly what these people were saying here. Why did we ever leave Egypt? Why did we choose this narrow path? Why didn't we enjoy Egypt? It's true that there was slavery there, but we did have a lot of things that.
We could enjoy there, and a discouraged Christian is very likely to turn aside into the world. And some of us can look back in our lives and see that there were times when we turned aside to the world. And if we carefully observe it, we'll say it was because we were discouraged. Maybe something happened in the meeting and we blame somebody else, and so on. We got discouraged and then we turned aside. So here we see that tendency brought before us. Here they were now going.
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In heart, thank God they never got back there and God's not going to condemn any of his people with the world.
We're never going to come under the world's condemnation, but alas, we can choose the friendship of the world, which is enmity with God. So they were going to in heart, turn back into Egypt themselves, their children, their cattle. How different from what we had in Ezra on Lords Day, where they sought a right way for their themselves and for their children.
And for all their substance.
Here they were murmuring that it was hard for them, it was hard for their children, and it was hard to get a living and their cattle. So they didn't they They were thoroughly discouraged. And what did Moses do? Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? They be almost ready to stone me. Isn't it beautiful here to see what Moses did?
Instead of.
Reproaching them, which he could have done.
He said to the Lord, What shall I do unto this people? They be almost ready to stone me. And I suppose nothing is harder for one who has tried to be a help to the people of God than to have them turn against him. We know the feelings in Paul's heart when those at Corinth spoke against him and sought to set him aside, and we see how that he got before the Lord and could say.
I am willing to love you, though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved. Oh, this was the spirit of Christ. And we see this brought out with Moses when he said to the Lord, what will I do to these people? They're just about going to throw stones at me. And sometimes people do throw, perhaps not literal stones, but there can be pretty hurtful stones that are thrown sometimes, and they really do hurt, perhaps more than real stones. Well, he cried to the Lord.
And what did the Lord say?
He said go on before the people. Let's always remember those those words. We need them often when we get discouraged, the Lord says go on before the people, don't turn aside your path of service, continue and seek to be a help to my people. So he not only said to go on before the people, but take with the of the elders of Israel.
But the very people that were wanting to stone him, to take them with him.
Yes, he said, you take them with you because I want to bless them. And so this is an encouragement to us not to give up, but to ever seek the good and blessing of the people of God. And if it's a question of the truth, of course we have to stand for it. But if it's a question of personal matters, let's seek grace to forgive and go on. And so that's what we see here with Moses the Lord.
Him to go on, and he said, And thy rod wherewith thou smartest the river, take in thine hand and gull.
On what ground could God bless a people like this? It was only upon the ground of the fact that the rod had been lifted up upon another. And that's what we see at at the Red Sea. There was the Red Sea. How could the people Passover? Well, Moses was to lift up his rod and bring it down and God would open through the Red Sea a way of deliverance for his people and I like to connect it with.
Little hymn, Jehovah lifted up his rod. Oh Christ, it fell on thee. Thou wast forsaken of thy God. No distance now for me. Thy blood. Beneath that rod has flowed thy thy bruising healeth me. And on what ground can God bless his people, as we were saying before, because we've been faithful.
Now, because of Calvary, his grace can flow out without limit and free.
And so the Lord was saying to Moses, I have a basis by which I can bless these people. I know they're murmuring, I know they're not what they should be, but I have a basis on which I can bless them. And that is that the rod has been brought upon another. And so God has a righteous basis by which he can bless us and bless us eternally. And it's because of that rod, it's because the Lord Jesus.
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Bore the wrath and the judgment of God.
And in the sixth verse he says, Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb, and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
When it says here I will stand before thee there upon the rock in horrible, I like to think how that Moses was not to look at the people, but he was to have his eyes upon the Lord. The Lord says, I'll stand before you. And this is what we need to do. In the 84th Psalm, when we find the psalmist praying there, he says, he says, give ear, O God of Jacob, and then he says, look upon.
Thine anointed, who is God anointed one, He's the God of Jacob. As he looked at poor failing Jacob. No, he looks upon the face of his anointed, and because of that he can bless. So the Lord said, I'll stand before thee there. And just like when Balaam was hired to curse the people, God wouldn't let him curse them. And he had to say from the tops, top of the rocks, do I behold them? He has not beheld iniquity in Jacob nor.
In Israel, he didn't say it wasn't there, He didn't say there wasn't iniquity, that there wasn't perverseness, but he didn't see them that way. He saw them as his favorite people. And that is our standing before God. And so here we find He was to have his eyes upon the Lord. And then smiting the rock, the waters would come out.
We know that there was another occasion later on when Moses was told to speak to the rock.
And the water would come. Why is it here? Smite the rock? On the other occasion, speak to the rock. Oil is very blessed. The rock only had to be smitten once. The work of redemption is gloriously complete by one offering yet perfected forever them that are sanctified. And the rock will never have to be smitten again. The work of redemption, I say, is complete. But we can speak to the rock. We can speak to it.
And Moses misrepresented the Lord when he in anger smote the rock twice. And the Lord has completed the work. The ground of blessing has been laid. And isn't it blessed now that we can speak to the rock? Yes, He's up there, and we can speak to Him, as we'll see. And what follows here? We can come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find.
Time of need. So the rock here had to be smitten. Saw that the water could flow.
And now, once that has been completed, now we can speak to the rock well.
The water flowed, and then it tells us that the name of the place was called Massa and Meribah, because they tempted the Lord and said as the Lord among us or not. There was this reminder that they had forgotten the Lord. They had looked at circumstances instead of thinking of God's faithfulness, is the little hymn puts it. We ought to praise Him for all its past and trust Him for all that's to come.
As He'll never forsake His people. But now we come to the point that I particularly would like to bring before you, and that is from the eighth verse on, we see a battle taking place here. Then came Amalek and fought with Israel in Refidium. I'd like to connect this with John 7. If you'll turn to John 7, I'd just like to read a few verses there.
John 7 and verse 37.
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive. For the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified.
Then if you'll also turn to Galatians chapter 5.
Another verse in this connection. Galatians chapter 5.
And the 17th verse.
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary, the one to the other, so that she cannot do the things that she would. I think perhaps we can see from this that the water flowing from this smitten rock is a figure not only of salvation, but of the Holy Spirit of God. For when we are saved, the Holy Spirit of God comes to indwell our bodies.
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Says in Galatians in Ephesians chapter one.
After that she believed you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. And so in this water flowed from the smitten rock. It's a picture to us of what takes place consequent upon the finished work of Christ. When we believe, when we rest upon that finished work, then the Holy Spirit of God comes to indwell our bodies. We see a picture of it too, in the cleansing of the leopard. The blood was put upon him, and then the oil.
Was put on top of the blood. And so the Lord Jesus, smitten, brings before us the work of redemption.
And then the Spirit of God now, and this, as we have in John 7, is a picture to us of the Holy Spirit of God. For the believer, I say, is indwelled by the Spirit. And no sooner had this taken place than Amalek came out. And so we noticed in Galatians 5, the flesh lusteth against the Spirit.
An amalek in the scripture is a picture to us of the flesh.
Or perhaps I could better say Satan's power over us through the flesh, the fallen nature that's within.
Because that's what Satan always works upon. Can't do anything with the Newman. The Lord Jesus said the Prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me. He can't do anything with the new man any more than he could do anything with Christ. The Lord Jesus always met every temptation by saying it is written. He could never get the Lord Jesus out of the path of obedience and dependence, but he does have.
Something to work on in me and everyone of us here know, if we're honest with ourselves and accept the truth of God's Word, that we have within us this fallen nature. And Satan knows our weaknesses and he knows just exactly how to present temptation to us, and he always works upon that old nature. The whole world system operates on the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.
The whole world system is Condor Satan's control, says the whole world lieth in the arms of the wicked one. He just is the one who controls the world's system, and he knows just what appeals to each one of us. And so no sooner had they had a drink of this refreshing water than Hamleck came out. And doesn't this remind us something of our own souls? Experience all the joy of being.
All the joy of having peace with God. And yet we can look back and say it surely wasn't very long until Satan came with some temptation and we discovered to our dismay and to our sorrow that the old nature was still there and not improved. He's not improved. The old nature does not improve. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. The flesh profit is nothing. And so.
Amalek comes out now it wasn't going to be all over with Israel. Or was there a way, a victory for them? As I say, there were redeemed people. They were going to be brought to the promised land. But now it's a question of victory over Amalek. And isn't this an important thing in our lives too? Because I've often said a Christian can be the happiest person on earth or he he can be the most miserable.
If he's really enjoying what he has in Christ, he'll be the happiest person on earth.
But if he's not, he's spoiled for the world, he can't enjoy the world again if he's a true child of God because he has the heavenly guest within. Just like going on a trip with somebody that keeps telling you all the time, I'm not enjoying this. This is this is miserable. I don't like this. How would you like to go on a trip with somebody who kept saying that to you all the time? Say that was no fun at all. I didn't enjoy that. Well, we have the Spirit of God within. And when he's grieved, he keeps telling us this.
And so the Christian can't enjoy the world again. But.
He and that makes him very miserable, because the whirling doesn't have that guest within, and he may have a measure of pleasure out of the world, the pleasures of sin for a season. But I say again, the Christian spoiled for this world, and we might as well then enjoy our portion in Christ. I say again, there's nothing so miserable as a miserable Christian.
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The only way you can comfort him is comfort him in Christ, and if he's away from the Lord, you may find it difficult to bring him back to where he can enjoy the Lord again. Well, may the Lord keep us. Here's the way that God is set before us here, the way of victory when Amalek came out, and when Satan comes with his temptations and we prove that weakness within.
Then do we have a resource? Has God provided for this situation?
Well, I believe it's all brought before us in a very lovely way here in what follows.
Moses takes the whole situation in hand. Moses said unto Joshua. And I might mention that the name Joshua is exactly the same as the name Jesus in the New Testament. In fact, in one place in the New Testament, Joshua's name is given as Jesus is exactly the same name in the original, so that he represents to us the Lord Jesus, who in the power of the Spirit of God is the captain of.
Salvation leading us through this wilderness on our way home. So.
We see here Moses took the situation in hand and told Joshua to go out as the captain to lead the people against Amalek. And I say again, we have one who is spoken of in Scripture as the captain of our salvation. And last night we were talking a little bit about whether we are seeking to follow the direction of this captain.
Sometimes we're rather self willed. Very self willed I guess I could say.
And we don't follow the direction of our captain. We think we can take things in our own hands. We're like Peter, you know, who could trust himself, he thought. And we like to choose our own way sometimes. And so these people were not to say, well, I think I can overcome Amalek. I think we're strong enough to handle this enemy. You know, we're saved now, and we really are happy. And we ought to be able to overcome him. But did you ever notice that? Very often.
Greatest defeats come after some time when we seem to have been exceedingly happy. Do you know why that is? Well, for the very same reason that when the Children of Israel won their greatest victory at Jerry Call, they had a big defeat at AI. They trusted in themselves. They thought I can do it. And they said we don't all need to go up against this city. It's only a little city. And so they attempted to do it in their own strength.
I can look back on my life and I remember returning from one of the conferences. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And then I got in conversation with a man and I found out how very, very weak I was to meet all the things he said to me. The Lord let me see how weak I was in myself when the children of Israel, when the disciples, I should say, were up on the Mount of Transfiguration, I suppose it was one of the finest experiences in their lives.
But then when they came down, a man met them, and he wanted them to cast the unclean spirit out of his child.
And they couldn't do it. They couldn't do it. They said to the Lord, why can't we do it? He said, this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. So I just warn you that sometimes you think, oh, I'm so happy now. I'm sure I can meet any situation, not without constant dependence on the Lord. And so victory is a very blessed thing, but if we rely on the victory instead of upon the person who gave us the victory.
We may have to prove our own weakness. So here they had a captain, and this captain was able to lead them in this conflict against Amalek. And so he went out as their leader. And let's never turn aside from following our leader. Let us always be dependent upon him. Let us realize that we can't take one step alone.
Without me you can do nothing. So that was the first thing.
And then the next thing was that Moses said, And I will go up on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.
So Joshua did so, did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek and Moses, Aaron and her went up to the top of the hill. Now I believe that Moses going up onto the top of the hill represents the Lord Jesus who has gone up into heaven for us. You'll turn with me now to.
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Hebrews chapter 4. Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 14.
Seeing then that we have a great High Priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession, for we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities that was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
If you'll turn to the 7th chapter in the 24th verse.
But this man, because he continued with ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that common to God, by him, seeing He ever liveth, to make intercession for us. For such an high priest became us who is wholly harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens. I think we can perhaps see the connection here, because in both both those passages it speaks about one who has gone up.
The heavens, who is made higher than the heavens? And so we see Moses going up onto the top of the mount and holding up his hand. Now, what did that have to do with their victory? Oh, it had everything to do with it. And what does it have to do with us? Oh, isn't it blessed that there is one who's gone up on high, and he is our great high priest. And what is he there for? Well, the high priest in Israel had to offer sacrifices for sin.
The Lord's work is completed in that He has offered Himself as the one perfect sacrifice. But He is our great high Priest, and He is there in the presence of God for us. We have a living Savior at the right hand of God, and their whole victory depended upon this. It's true that they needed this leader because He was guiding them in the path of obedience, but they needed that work.
That was going on up in the top of the hill, and you and I could never, never get through our wilderness journey.
If we didn't have that daily help from above and were invited to come boldly under the throne of grace. We spoke at the beginning of the meeting about grace. I'm glad it's a throne of grace. That is, you don't have to come and say, well, I've been a faithful Christian. I think I can count on the Lord helping me in this difficulty. No, it's grace. It's undeserved. And so we come to him in the confidence.
And that the one who died for us lives for us, and he's touched with the feeling of our infirmities. Now you know, there is a difference between infirmities and sins.
When we have sinned, we need an advocate, and we'll speak of this in a few moments. But infirmities means our weaknesses. And we have weaknesses, you know, when we allow those things, then they become sin. But we do have weaknesses, every one of us, because we're still here in these bodies of humiliation. And I'm greatly comforted by that verse. He knoweth our frame.
He remembereth that we are but dust. He owes all about us.
He has walked the path before and so he's there and he invites us not to come shyly or wondering if he'll hear us, but he's touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He knows just exactly how we feel. You get up in the morning with a headache, the Lord knows how you feel. You get up and there's a lot of pressure at work. He knows all about that too, and how unable we are sometimes to cope with situations. Isn't it very?
That He understands all about this and He's touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He passed through everything. Sin apart. The Lord Jesus was never tempted from within. We're tempted from within because we have a fallen nature. But He was the one who passed through all these things and showed us that the way to meet them was.
In perfect and constant dependence upon God.
What Satan tries to do is to get us out of the path of dependence. He tried that with the Lord.
But he couldn't do it. But he tries it with us to get us dependent on ourselves instead of on the Lord.
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So he's touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and he invites us to come in every time of need. And now in return over to this 7th chapter, it says this man, because he continueth, ever hath an unchangeable priesthood. You have a margin, it says, which passeth not from one to another.
I rather enjoy that expression because that it doesn't pass from one to another.
Sometimes you have a friend, and this friend has known you and known your family for a long time. You feel you can talk freely to that person because you feel that person understands me. I've often said what the human heart craves most of all is understanding and love. We want those two things. We have them both in the Lord, in the measure in which we find them in a creature.
By it helps us if you have someone you feel understands you, if you have someone you feel loves you in spite of all that you are, it's a tremendous help. Well, no one is perfect, but we do have one who thoroughly understands knows through us through and through and loves us just the same. And when it says he hath an unchangeable priesthood. He knew my whole family history. He knew my.
He knew my grandfather, he knew all the family weaknesses, he knew all about us. And so that's the kind of a high priest we have. Isn't it very blessed to have such a one who knows all? He knows exactly how we feel. Sometimes we we just can't tell other people exactly how we feel. But he knows and say, well, I shouldn't feel this way. He knows about that too. He understands and.
He's touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
And when it says He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, this is not really the thought of the saving of our souls. It's rather the thought that we have in Romans 5, where it says, if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. He noticed the difference there. Our souls are saved through the work of Calvary.
But we're saved from dishonouring him, from getting away from defeat in our Christian life by the one who lives for us. And so when Moses hand was up, Israel prevailed. When it went down, Amalek prevailed. And so when we don't have that help from above, Amalek prevails, He gets the victory. So he's able to save to the uttermost. This means that.
There never can be a situation in your life or mine as Christians.
That we can ever say, while the Lord couldn't help me in that it was just too difficult. He's able to save to the uttermost that the the very hardest day, the greatest trials we can come to Him and he's able to keep us. He's able to help us through those things and make us more than conquerors, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.
So there he is at the right hand of God.
And when we seek His help, then there's victory. The enemy doesn't get the advantage. But when we don't seek His help, and we often don't, we rely on ourselves. We try to handle the situation in our own wisdom, and down we go to defeat. But here he lives to make intercession for us. And such a high priest became us, who is wholly harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than.
Why does it say such a high priest became us? Well, you know, sometimes when we have a friend and we feel that friend understands us, yet that friend sometimes will actually sympathize with us in our failures. And this is wrong. Supposing that I go to a friend and I say, you know what so and so said to me? And he said some very unkind and mean things, and then I say.
And I just told him and so we tell the person what we what our reply was and the person says.
Well, I don't blame you. I would have done the same. That person didn't help us at all. That person just encouraged us to do the wrong thing. That's not the kind of help we get from the Lord. He's holy, He's harmless. And what does he say? Oh, he says, did they say that to you? I'll give you all the grace you need to forgive them, to show love to them. That's the kind of help we need, isn't it? Otherwise, Satan does get the advantage. So that's the kind of help such a.
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Priest became us. He's holy, He's harmless, he's undefiled, and there he is in the presence of God for us. Isn't it very blessed to see He knows all about us. He understands our frame, He understands our physical weaknesses. If we go to work with a headache and we tell him, well, I'm going to need special help today, says I know all about it, I'll give you the help you need. How wonderful. That's why it says when his hand was up, Israel prevailed when it went down.
Amalek prevailed. Now it doesn't mean the Lord's hand never goes down, but sometimes we don't ask the help, do we? And therefore the enemy gets the victory. But it tells us that Moses went up on the mount and he had two hands, and on one side Aaron held up his hand because Aaron was the priest. And that's the picture of what we've just been talking about. That is, the Lord Jesus is our great high priest.
But it never tells us the other hand went down.
Perhaps you noticed when I was reading it speaks about one hand going down, but it never says the other hand went down and her hur stayed up the other hand and the word her means purity. Now that other hand represents to us the advocacy of Christ. Supposing we did fail, supposing we did say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing. Is it all up with us then?
Does that mean now, because we failed, that there's no hope? Oh, no.
We should have asked help, but when we didn't, Amalek prevailed. But the other hand was always up. And what is that? I say again, it's advocacy. It's to restore us when we have failed. Let's read a few verses about this in First Epistle of John and the first chapter.
And the eighth verse.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We say that we have not sinned. We make Him a liar, and His word is not in US. My little children, these things right I unto you that she sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
I think you can see from these verses the advocacy of Christ, and you can see why it was her whose name means purity, that held up the other hand, because it says he's he's faithful and just, and that our advocate is Jesus Christ the righteous.
I failed as a Christian. Now I have one who's there at the right hand of God? Does he overlook that sin? Oh, no, sin had to be punished. But I like to think of it in this way at the moment. The believer sins, we have won in the presence of God for us. And it's as though in the presence of God he said I paid for that sin.
I paid for that sin. The Lord Jesus is there, and this is important, I believe, for us to see.
Because it doesn't say if any man confess his sin, we have an advocate with the Father, but it says if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father. And the reason I call attention to this is because I find some Christians that no wonder what's going to happen if there was some unconfessed sin in their lives and the Lord should come.
The advocacy of Christ is going on continually before we've ever confessed it. He is there in the presence of God for us.
Nothing interrupts the believers standing. He is always there, accepted in God's beloved Son, always holy and without blame, before him, in love. So there he is, before you ever confessed it at all. That hand never goes down. He's there. He maintains our cause. The word advocate means one who.
Maintains our cause, one it could be translated, a patron, one who is interested in all our affairs, and there he is in the presence of God for us.
Oh, how good to know that he's there. Will you say, what does sin do in the believers life then? Well, it doesn't change our standing, but it does get us out of fellowship with the Lord. And so when the believer sins, he needs to come and confess it. He needs to come and own it before the Lord and be restored. Otherwise he walks out of fellowship with God.
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And while our standing remains perfect before God.
Our condition of soul may not be what it should be, and if there are any of us here tonight who have some unconfessed sin in our lives, you're still perfect as to your standing before God. But I'm sure you're out of fellowship with the Lord. Because if we allow sin in our lives, then there can't be communion or common thoughts. That's what communion means. There can't be common thoughts with God. He hates sin, but isn't it blessed?
That this advocate is righteous. He's righteous because as I say, he paid for that sin. He doesn't overlook it, He settled it. And now what is the believer to do? Says here, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. If we confess our sins, some, I've heard some Christians say, well, I asked God to forgive my sins every day.
Well this verse doesn't say to ask him to forgive, does it?
This verse says if we confess our sins, you say, well, what is the difference? Well, let me put it this way. If I did something very unkind to you and then I came to you and said, will you forgive me? I'm raising the question of whether you're going to say yes or no. You might say yes, you might say no. I asked you, will you forgive me? But.
When you supposing I came to you and and you said to me, Gordon, I've already forgiven you in my heart.
But I would like you to say you're sorry. That's quite different, isn't it? And you know, the believer has been as to his position before God, he has been judicially forgiven and is judicially forgiven at all times. This has to do with restorative forgiveness. So we're not told to come and ask for forgiveness, but sometimes it's a little harder to confess it than to ask forgiveness.
Sometimes when we were at home, I'm very thankful that our parents taught us to say I'm sorry because I find that.
It's often hard to say you're sorry for something. It's almost easier to ask somebody to forgive you than humble yourself and say I'm sorry I did it. But that's what the Lord wants us to do. We grieve him. He went to Calvary and paid for that sin. And to think that we grieved his wondrous love, what He had done for us by allowing something in our lives that cost him the judgment of Calvary, well.
Were then to confess it and it says he's faithful and just to forgive us that means there's forgiveness in different ways in Scripture this is this is we might say restore the forgiveness now we're restored to fellowship in the family and it says and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness this cleanse us from all unrighteousness means that is not just to go on with that sin but rather to have thoroughly judged it so that we.
Don't want to be careless about that sin. It's something of the thought that David had in the 51St Psalm, a passage that somewhat misunderstood. He said, Take not thy Holy Spirit from me. The correct translation is, take not the Spirit of thy holiness from me. David was afraid that he might after that look rather lightly on that sin. And he said, Oh Lord, I never want to look lightly on that.
I always want to have the spirit of thy holiness. And that's a very important thing for us when a person is really restored. And then there is again the spirit of holiness. He abhors the sin and he wants to, he wants to always look upon it as something that was abhorrent to God, not say, Oh well, I failed, but everybody does now to look on it seriously and so.
There is the confession of sin and to cleanse us.
From all unrighteousness. Well, Moses at least. Yes, Moses was up on the hill and he was holding up both his hands. And it says that.
The 13th verse and Joshua discomforted Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. God gave a victory and brethren is blessed, and we can have that victory in our Christian life if we avail ourselves of the provision that has been made. Who had this battle in hand though? Notice the last verse. And he said, because the Lord has sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation.
Generation, we sing in our hymns sometimes. The Lord is our banner, the battle is his.
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The weakest of Saints more than conqueror is so it was the Lord that provided for all this. They had the captain Moses was up on the top of the hill. They couldn't boast and say we did this by our own strength. It's the Lords battle and maybe some of us here tonight say well I just feel so weak.
Isn't this Graham? The Lord will have war with Emily from generation to generation.
And we can never lay down arms and say, well, it's all over, not until we get home to glory. But it's good to know that if the Lord has taken this whole situation in hand, that we can count upon him, that he has provided the way of victory. And it's all through him. Him as our captain, him as our high priest, him as our advocate. It's all I say through him that there's victory. So Moses build an altar and called it Jehovah Nissi, which means.
The Lord our banner, as though he said, I never want to forget this. We didn't win this victory over Amalek because we were stronger than him. We want it because the Lord is our banner. And then the going back to the 14th verse. And the Lord said unto Moses, write this for a memorial in a book and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua. For I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
There were two things Joshua was never to forget.
The way of victory. And let us never forget this either. It had to be repeated to Joshua because he might forget. And perhaps as I say these things tonight, there are those who have heard these things many times. But it, it was necessary for Joshua to be reminded. And we need to be reminded of these things. And then this expression I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. This was a comforting thought and it is a comforting thought.
To me too, that there's a day coming when the remembrance of Amalek will be gone. When we reach the glory above, there won't be any conflict. No, thank God that the flesh will be gone. We won't have any infirmities. We'll have bodies of glory like Christ's own glorious body. And so there were two things the Lord said. Remind Joshua of the way of victory, but give him some consolation and tell him there.
To it, when we get home to glory, it's all going to be at an end. We'll be there with Him and like Him. This is our blessed and glorious hope, that when we reach there, by all that's connected with this scene here will have passed. We'll have the remembrance of His grace.