Standing in the Gap

Grace Covenant Reformed Church

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Last week, we took time together to begin looking at the events that are recorded for us in Exodus chapter 32 through 34.

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And as we studied the first 10 verses that we find in chapter 32, we ever so slightly brushed against a major doctrine of the

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Christian faith that we really did not spend much time on.

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And so this morning, in preparation to enter into our next section of text, we need to take just a moment and ensure that we understand this doctrine, this teaching, and exactly what it is and why it's there and how it is important as it relates to the remainder of this passage.

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Hopefully you recall these events took place at some point while Moses was on the mountain convening with God, that these things happened prior to Moses' descent, yet they are the things that culminated in God sending

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Moses down. Prior to Moses going up,

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Moses and the people of God had gathered for the express purpose of ratifying the covenant with God.

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God had commanded a worship service that was to bring them and he together and that they were to agree with each other on this covenant.

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Now, as we discussed last week, this covenant is the covenant that began in the garden.

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It's not a new covenant, but it is the same covenant. It is simply dealt with in different ways as we move from Adam to Abraham to Jacob to Israel to the people, the children of Israel in the land of Egypt.

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At the end of the day, the essence of this covenant was that God would be their

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God and they would be his people as long as they obeyed all that he commanded them.

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The particular doctrine to which I am referring is called by different names in different ways.

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Some refer to it as total depravity. Some refer to it as total inability and there are others who will refer to it as radical corruption.

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The teaching behind all of these short terminologies is such that we, in our natural unconverted state, that the nature of humanity is without ability to change.

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To come to a saving knowledge of Christ. That we cannot simply understand

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God or the things of God. Paul describes us in his letter to the church at Rome as even though they knew

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God because we can see him in creation, they did not glorify him as God or give thanks, but became futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened.

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Or later to the church at Ephesus as those dead in your transgressions and sins in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

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Among whom we all also formerly conducted ourselves in the lust of the flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were, and this is one of those places you should go and underline and circle, by nature children of wrath.

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We are defined in scripture as without the ability to come before the throne of God apart from the regenerating work of the

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Holy Spirit. Now the reason that I am circling back around to this doctrine which we just barely brushed up against last week is because the teaching, the understanding of this doctrine that we have in our lives at the core of what is going on with the

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Hebrews, of what is going on in the situation they were in on the base of the mountain, just as surely as it is what we find ourselves in as people if we are unconverted.

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Now let me be clear, total depravity deals with the person in their natural unconverted state.

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As we are saved that changes for us and we will have a whole different series on that one of these days where we dig deeper.

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But for the people of Israel, for the nation, the

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Hebrew nation that was standing at the base of Sinai, there was nothing that they could do.

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There was no work that they could accomplish that would make them or return them to a right standing with God because of what they had done.

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So just as a recollection if you don't remember, while Moses has been on the mountain receiving the mountain, receiving the instructions regarding the tabernacle, receiving the stones on which are the commandments and the laws of God, they have been down at the foot of the mountain breaking the very commandments that God is giving to Moses.

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Now they were not without knowledge of these commands, they knew the commands, yet they were breaking them anyway.

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In fact, they were breaking the very highest magnitude by breaking the very first,

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Exodus chapter 20 verse 3, you shall have no other gods before me.

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Now one may say, well what about the sacrificial system? Well first of all, they had not received the details and the instructions regarding the sacrificial system and secondarily, even if they had received the details regarding the sacrificial system, it was built and designed for sins that were accidental or not blatant violations such as the violation that they were committing.

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And so God's response that we saw last week in the closing verses was to pronounce judgment on them, but as we demonstrated, not only was his pronouncement one of judgment, but it was also one of mercy.

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And so as we enter this text this morning, our verses, our text for today will specifically be verses 11 through 14, but just so that we have a good flavor of the entire interaction between God and Moses at this point, we're going to back up and begin in verse 7 of Exodus chapter 32.

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There is much to see here in Moses chapter 32, Moses' response to God, his intercessory prayer on behalf of the people.

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And so without further delay, please turn in your word to Exodus chapter 32, beginning in verse 7 and having found your place there, please stand for the reading of God's holy, inerrant, infallible, sufficient, authoritative, complete, and certain word.

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Exodus chapter 32, beginning in the 7th verse and reading down to the 14th, we find these words,

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Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, Go, go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.

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They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed to it, and have said,

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These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.

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And Yahweh said to Moses, I have seen this people, and behold, they are a stiff -necked people.

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Now then, let me alone, that my anger may burn against them, and that I may consume them, and I will make you a great nation.

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Then Moses entreated the favor of Yahweh his God and said, O Yahweh, why does your anger burn against your people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a strong hand?

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Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, With evil intent he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth?

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Turn from your burning anger, and relent concerning doing harm to your people.

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Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by yourself, and you said to them,

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I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which

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I have spoken, so I will give to your seed, and they shall inherit it forever.

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So Yahweh relented concerning the harm with which he said he would do to his people.

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Our prayer this morning is adapted from the Valley of Vision, a Christian's prayer. Mighty and merciful

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God, as we once again bow before you this morning, Lord, ten thousand snares await us both within ourselves and within this world.

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Defend us, O Lord. When sloth and indolence seize us, grant us views of heaven.

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When sinners entice us, turn their enticement sour in our mouths. When worldly and fleshly pleasures tempt us, purify and refine us.

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When we desire possessions of this world, help us to see the richness we have in you.

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When the vanities of this world would trap us, keep us from falling into new guilt and ruin,

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Lord, help us to recall the dignity of the spiritual freedom we find in you, and let us never be too busy to attend to our souls, never be so engrossed with time here and now as to lose sight of the reality of eternity.

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In all these things, Father, may we not only live but grow towards you, form and shape our minds to the right notions of religion, that we may not judge of grace by our own thoughts nor measure our spiritual growth by the efforts of our natural being.

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Lord, may we seek, after an increase of divine love towards you, may we have unreserved submittal to your will, extensive benevolence toward our fellow man, much patience and fortitude of our souls, a heavenly disposition and a concern that we please you in both our public and private lives.

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Draw on our souls the very features and characteristics of Christ. That you would take delight in every feature, for we are your workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, your letter written with the pen of the

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Holy Spirit, your soil tilled and ready for the sowing and then the harvest.

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Father, we ask these things in the blessed name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.

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You may be seated. As we have worked through much of the book of Exodus, we have focused in on and recognized various types and shadows that we see portrayed.

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In fact, we have in the past discussed that Moses himself is a type or a shadow of Christ in his role as mediator between God and man.

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He serves as a foreshadow of that which Christ was to become that one true mediator.

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We also see in this passage and in others that Moses also serves as a type that depicts the leadership and the responsibilities of the leadership of the church.

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Briefly, I want to mention here and deal with this so that as we move forward in this passage, hopefully you can see that both of these realities exist and are true throughout this passage.

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Now if you'll note the way the passage is written, the way that Moses writes these words, it is as if a conversation is taking place, much like sitting face to face and talking with someone across a table.

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However, we know that this is not exactly what's happening and we know this because, quite honestly, to look on the face of God before we are glorified means certain death.

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In the next chapter we get to in Exodus, we will encounter the events surrounding

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Moses requesting that God show him his glory.

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We read these words in 17 through 23 of Exodus 33.

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Then Yahweh said to Moses, I will do this thing of which you have spoken, for you have found favor in my sight, and I have known you by name.

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Then Moses said, I pray you show me your glory. And he said,

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I myself will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you, and I will be gracious to whom

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I will be gracious, and I will show compassion on whom I will show compassion. But he, being

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God, said, you cannot see my face, for no man can see me and live.

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And so we know that Moses is placed in the crevice of the rock and the

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Lord God passes in front of him and he sees his hinder parts.

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So we know that Moses is not sitting down across a table from God having a face -to -face conversation, rather what we are actually seeing here is a prayer.

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And it's a very specific type of prayer. A prayer that is called the prayer of intercession.

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Intercessory prayer is prayer that is prayed by someone on behalf of someone else.

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So in other words, it is a type of prayer in which we are intervening or mediating on behalf of others.

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This is the type of prayer that elders pray for their flock.

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The 1689 London Baptist Confession in the 26th chapter regarding the church, paragraph 10 states, in the beginning the work of pastors is to give constant attention to the service of Christ in his churches in the ministry of the word and prayer.

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They are to watch over the souls of church members as those who must give an account to God.

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There's a responsibility there. A responsibility that says that we intercede on behalf of the people within the body of the church, of the flock that has been entrusted to us to under shepherd.

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The reference here in this particular part of paragraph 10 is both

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Acts 6 verse 4 and Hebrews 13 verse 17. Acts 6 .4

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says but we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word. Hebrews says obey your leaders and submit to them for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account so that they will do with this joy and not with groaning for this would be unprofitable for you.

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Both of which detail the responsibility of the elder to the church to pray over and to keep watch over the souls of those within the body.

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This is a much less effective version of what

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Christ does on our behalf as he stands in the throne room of God interceding, mediating before the father.

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So as we look at this prayer, as we see this intercessory prayer of Moses, may we be reminded that it serves to remind foreshadow the one, that one true mediator between God and man, the

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Lord Jesus Christ. And that it also serves as a guide for those who would lead the church to those who would entrust,

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Christ would entrust the church people to, to also stand on behalf of the people before God.

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There's a second thing that I want to deal with in this passage before we actually dive into the words themselves.

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You see, we find a theological challenge within the words of this passage and, and the theological challenge typically arises from the way in the, the way in which we understand one specific word that is used twice.

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It is used both in verse 14 and in verse 12.

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In verse 12 and in verse 14 of the LSB version, it is translated as relent.

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If you were to open a King James version, it would be translated as repent.

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Other versions are translated as change your mind. Hopefully you begin to see the problem with this word in conjunction with referring to God because what it suggests is that the immutable

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God, the, the God that cannot change does and therefore we have a theological problem and it's a problem that has a two fold issue.

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The first issue as I have already mentioned seems to be that Moses is asking

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God and, and God is responding in a matter which is in direct contradiction with his nature.

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Now, before we go further, we need to be very clear that God cannot act contrary to his nature.

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When we, when we talk about the many attributes of God, we understand that these are essentially defining

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God for us and that as we talk about these attributes,

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God is all of these things at all times and in all places. Now, we are human.

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Our intellect is extremely flawed and extremely limited, so we don't necessarily understand how this is true, but we believe that it is true because God's word proclaims that it is true.

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As we look at these attributes, there is only one that we see elevated to the third level and we see that in Isaiah's prophecy as he stands before God in the throne of God and we see the seraphim crying out to each other in antiphonal response the words that we sang this morning, holy, holy, holy.

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And so as we think about these things, we see these different attributes, one of those attributes being

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God's immutability or the inability to change.

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Now, the importance of this attribute, just like all of his other attributes, cannot be understated.

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It is essential that we understand God cannot change.

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For God to be holy, for him to be truth, for him to be sovereign, then he also must be immutable.

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You say, but I don't, I don't understand. Well, if he is going to be holy, he can never change because if he changes, then the definition of holiness changes, which means truth changes, which means everything that we know and understand changes.

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So you see, he has to be all of these things at all time to be

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God. He cannot change. Were he able to change, all of the promises of God would be subject to change.

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If those promises were subject to change, then we lose the very foundation upon which we stand. Because if God can change, then he is not true truth.

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And if he is not true truth, his word is not true truth. But we know that it is.

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Consider 1 Samuel 15, verse 29. Also the eternal one of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man that he should have regret.

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The word that we translate regret in the LSB can also be translated changing of the mind.

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In other words, you can read also the eternal one of Israel will not lie or change his mind, for he is not a man that he should have to change his mind.

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He cannot change his mind. He does not change his mind because God does not change.

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Malachi 3, 6, for I, Yahweh, do not change.

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Therefore you, all sons of Jacob, are not consumed. Hebrews 13, 8,

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Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. James 1, verse 17, every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above coming down from the

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Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

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In other words, there is no change. There is not even the slightest hint or notion of change.

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And so when we see this, we need to understand what this means when it seems to say that God is changing his mind.

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The second problem that we have this creates is that when we take this passage and we take other passages like this where Moses goes before God, where he intercedes before God on behalf of the people and we incorrectly treat them, then not only do we have a bad understanding of what is happening on Sinai, but we also develop a bad doctrine of prayer.

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We begin to see prayer as that thing which gets us what we want.

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It's the method to bring about the change that we want to see. Now this is a topic that is very difficult.

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It's very difficult in broad strokes, but it's also very difficult for those of us who have been brought up in churches where the teaching around prayer has been less robust than it should, and we see this erroneous idea that is often filled with these errors around what prayer truly is.

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But now we also have to be very careful that we understand and help people understand that just because God does not change does not mean that we should not pray.

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The inevitable question that comes out of the statement, well God doesn't change, your prayers don't change the mind of God, the inevitable question that that leads to for us is, why pray?

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What's the purpose? If what I've prayed for, I can't change

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God's mind and it's going to happen the way God wants it to happen, why should I pray? Well, fundamentally, prayer is a means.

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That is to say it is a method and a way for God's people to commit themselves to prayer.

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And to commune with God. You see, our first problem is that our understanding of prayer is often that it is the way in which

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I get what I want, versus it being an opportunity to speak with God.

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It is a way to come before Him to make our petitions known.

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Scripture commands us to enter into the presence of God to make our petitions known.

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Our passage we read in the opening this morning, our call to worship says to boldly come before the throne of grace and make your petitions known.

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So the word of God commands us to do this thing and it commands us to do this thing in a right way.

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We are to bear the desires of our heart. We are to lift up those people and situations with which we are concerned.

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This is not an effort to change the mind of God or to change the path of God, but to make and bring our concerns before God, but then also in the same way we submit to His will.

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The Baptist Catechism, also known as Keech's Catechism, question 106 is this, or excuse me, 105 is what is prayer?

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Now for those of you that do not know, a catechism is simply a tool that is used to teach what we believe.

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So just like our Confession of Faith, the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith summarizes what we believe based on God's word and is subject to God's word, the catechism asks and answers questions for us so that we begin to have an understanding of what it is

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Scripture teaches us and why. And so the response that we find to question 105 is this, prayer is an offering up of our desires to God by the assistance of the

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Holy Spirit for things agreeable to His will in the name of Christ, believing with confession of our sins and thankful acknowledgements of His mercies.

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Similarly, there is another Baptist Catechism called the Young's Baptist Catechism and the same question is question 72.

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The answer in Young's Baptist Catechism is a little simpler, it says prayer is an offering up of our desires to God in the name of Christ with confession of our sin and thankful acknowledgement of His mercy.

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As we think about these things, several passages come to mind, Philippians 4 verse 6, be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God.

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John 14 verses 13 and 14, whatever you ask in my name that will I do so that the

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Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it. But understanding that when you ask something in the name of God, in the name of Christ, you are doing so and calling on His will to be done.

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First John 1 verse 9, if we confess our sins,

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He is faithful and righteous to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all our sins.

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And then unrighteousness. So the word here that's used, that we translate as relent or repent or change mind, also contains the understanding of an action that is done in mercy, of grace being displayed.

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And so as we work through this passage, it's necessary that we see the thread God began in the final words of verse 10 where He says to Moses, and I will make you a great nation.

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That promise of grace and mercy that sits there and then continues both through Moses' prayer and then

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God's response in verse 14. And so as we begin to look at this prayer in depth, as we really begin to study, beginning in verse 11, the first thing that we see is not

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Moses' words. The first thing that we see is Moses' approach. Now oftentimes we can quickly run by this piece of the passage because we think that we pull everything we need just from a basic understanding of the

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English words. It says then Yahweh, or then Moses entreated the favor of Yahweh, his

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God, and said. But what we do not see in the English language, because this again is one of those words that can be translated in several different ways, is a very interesting phrase that exists.

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First of all, the second part of that phrase, in favor of, or the favor of, is translated literally before the face of God.

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Simply put, this action that is happening is happening right before the face of God.

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Now you think, okay, well, everything we do is before the face of God. I want you to draw your attention backwards for just a minute.

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Slide back up to verse 10. Notice the command of God to Moses, where he says, now let me alone.

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Leave me alone be. But we see from Moses' response here that he does not, in fact, let

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God alone. He does the exact opposite. And it could be said that he specifically stood firm in God's presence literally before his face.

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Secondly, God's statement in verse 10, where he says to Moses, let me alone, also suggests to us that Moses was the single thing standing between God and the people.

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Notice how the structure of verse 10 is. Now, let me alone. Why? Let me alone that I may burn in my anger against them and that I may consume them.

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Moses, leave me alone so that I can do this thing. Now, Moses is standing in the gap.

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In Ezekiel chapter 22 verse 30, we read these words, and I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land so that I would not bring it to ruin.

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But I found no one. What he's describing here, what God is describing through the prophet

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Ezekiel, is that he searched the land for someone who was willing to do exactly what

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Moses is doing here in Exodus, to stand in the gap between the anger of God and the people of God and to stand firm.

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Now, I don't know about you, but when I think about standing firm in the face of the anger and the wrath of the

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Almighty God, that's probably not a comfortable place to be. Yet Moses does exactly that thing.

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Not only that, it's not the first time that Moses has done that exact thing,

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Pink writes. But for Moses, they were surely lost, they being the people of Israel.

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He only stood between the holy wrath of God and their thoroughly merited doom.

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What would he do? When menaced by the Egyptians at the Red Sea, Moses had cried unto the

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Lord on their behalf. So too at the waters of Marah, he has supplicated

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Jehovah for them. When at Rephidim they had no water, yet again Moses had cried unto the

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Lord and obtained answer on their behalf. When Amalek came against Israel, it was the holding up of Moses' hands which gained them the victory.

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Moses stood in the gap. And so we see the second part of this phrase as being in the face of.

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The first word, the word that is translated in treat, means very similar to its

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English word to honestly or earnestly ask, to implore, to beg.

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But the Hebrew word goes a little further in its definition than this earnest asking or earnest imploring.

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The Hebrew word also is defined as being regretful or sorrowful or lacking in strength and vitality.

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To be grieved. So one may think that to stand in the face of the almighty

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God as Moses did takes considerable strength. But the word that we see here demonstrates for us that it takes an entirely different attitude.

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You see it doesn't just describe the action. It doesn't just describe the fact that Moses went before God begging on behalf of the people.

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It also describes the attitude in which he went before God. That he came asking earnestly, but he also did in the stance of one who is regretful, who is sorrowful, placing himself on the mercy of God.

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Not for himself. Moses isn't doing this for him. Moses wasn't even involved in the situation. He's doing it on behalf of the people of God.

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Those whom God had called stiff necked. Brothers and sisters, how can we not see that Moses stood in the gap for these people and it points forward to the one who stood in the gap for us.

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It points forward to the beautiful words that we read in Philippians chapter 2 verses 8 -11 being found in appearance as a man he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death.

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Even death on a cross. Therefore God highly exalted him, bestowed upon him the name which is above every name so that the name of Jesus every knee will bow, every tongue will confess of those who are in heaven and those who are on earth and those who are under the earth and they will confess that Jesus Christ is

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Lord to the glory of God the Father.

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What a picture of Christ as our mediator. As the only one who could stand in the gap.

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The only one who could mediate between God and man. The only one who could perfect this.

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And so as Moses comes before the face of God, he comes in humility.

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He comes on behalf of the people. But as he stands before God, as he comes in the same way in which we should come before God in prayer, in the same manner that he begins to pray to God and he makes three very distinct appeals to God.

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And these are the same kind of appeals that you and I make before God.

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These are the same things that we acknowledge as we come before him. First of all, we see that Moses appeals to the grace of God.

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Secondly, we will see that he appeals to the glory of God.

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And finally, to the faithfulness of God. We look at Moses' first words beginning in verse 11, where he says,

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Oh Yahweh, why does your anger burn against your people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a strong hand?

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This entire appeal by Moses, this whole question, is based on the grace of God.

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Notice the subtle change in language that has occurred. If you go up to verse 11, notice that God referred to the people of Israel now not as his people, but as Moses' people.

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Look at verse 7. It says, Then Yahweh said to Moses, Go, go down at once for your people whom you brought up.

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Now look at Moses' response to God in verse 11. Moses lifts them up before God as God's people.

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He says to him, God, why does your anger burn against your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt?

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As we've worked through Exodus, we've seen God's hand of mercy on the people.

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We go all the way back to Exodus 2, verses 24 -25. So God heard their groaning and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

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And God saw the sons of Israel and God knew them. And then again in Exodus 3, verses 9 -10, as God and Moses speak at the burning bush,

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God says to Moses, So now behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the

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Egyptians are oppressing them. So now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you shall bring my people, the sons of Israel, out of the land of Egypt.

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This is all an act of the grace of God. Listen, it's not that the people of Israel deserved any of this.

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In fact, if you were to truly analyze the people of Israel, the

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Hebrew nation that is in captivity in Egypt, even for all of their groaning, all of their desire, what we see is that they have a desire, but that desire is to go back to the comfortable life that they actually had in Egypt.

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To go back to the gods that they worshipped in Egypt because it was much easier. To go back to something other than what

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God had provided. Quite frankly, these people were the exact opposite of a people worthy of redemption.

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But then again, aren't we all? Aren't we all a people unworthy of redemption?

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It is God's grace. That's the only reason. Listen, every single one of you sitting here this morning woke up today.

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I'm smart enough to figure that out. And you only did it by God's grace.

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The next breath you take is by God's grace, by his mercy.

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You see, they didn't need and didn't deserve to be saved. We began all of this with a reminder of the truth of our nature, that we are by nature sinners.

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That we don't sin and therefore become sinners. We are sinners and therefore we sin.

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That is our nature. That is who we are. Those unworthy, these people redeemed from bondage in Israel were responding and were done so according to righteousness.

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Listen, the only way, the only way is by God's righteousness.

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There has to be a satisfaction of justice. You're like, but I don't see the satisfaction of justice in the people of Israel.

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Then you need to go back and reread Exodus. Go back to the events that occurred just before the 10th plague.

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Go back and reread the Passover and all the events around the Passover until you understand, until you get it, until you see that this

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Passover lamb that was slain, that had its blood shed and applied to the doorpost and the lentil, that this was the price that was paid.

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No different for us. The only difference is that the price that was paid for us was not a lamb that was slain and blood applied to a doorpost and a lentil, but Christ, the son of the living

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God, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world was slain and his righteousness was given to us.

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But it was given to us at the cost of Calvary. Romans 3 chapter,

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Romans chapter 3 verses 23 and 24 remind us of two great truth and paints this picture for us so clearly.

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Just about everybody that you come into contact with that's been in the church board in a couple days can quote Romans 3 verse 23.

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For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The problem is they don't know verse 24 which is being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.

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That redemption was only by the blood of Christ shed on Calvary's cross.

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Christ who now stands as an advocate for us, mediating for us before God.

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First John chapter 2 verse 1, my little children I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin and if anyone sins, what a beautiful reminder.

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John says I'm writing these things so that you don't sin but I also know your people, we're flesh, we sin.

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So when you do sin remember you have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

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The first appeal Moses made was to the grace of God. The work that he had already done in the life of the people of Israel.

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The second appeal to God is on the basis of His glory. Look at verse 12.

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In verse 12 we read Moses' words. It says why should the

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Egyptians speak saying with evil intent he brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth.

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Turn from your burning anger and relent concerning doing harm for your people. So as you recall the entire work of the ten plagues of Egypt, the whole message that was being proclaimed not only to Israel but to Egypt in the decimation of the

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Egyptian pantheon of gods was that God alone Yahweh the one true

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God was the only one to whom all glory and all honor belonged.

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That He alone was the Almighty. Moses' claim regarding the

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Egyptians here as Dennett writes spite of their shameful apostasy the plea of Moses was that they were still

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God's people and that His glory was concerned in sparing them lest the enemy should boast over their destruction and thereby over the

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Lord Himself. In itself it was a plea of irresistible force. Joshua uses one of like character when the

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Israelites were smitten before I. He says the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it and shall environ us round and cut off our name from the earth.

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And what will thou do unto thy great name? In both cases it was faith taking hold of God identifying itself with His own glory and claiming on that ground the response to its desires.

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A plea that God can never refuse. Listen ultimately we know we teach we say over and over all things are for the glory of God.

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Later through the prophet Ezekiel God would say these words in Ezekiel 20 verse 9 but I acted for my for the sake of my name that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived in whose sight

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I made myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. Just as he declares in Isaiah 48 verses 9 through 11 for the sake of my name

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I delay my anger and for my praise I restrain it for you in order not to cut you off.

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Behold I have refined you but not as silver I have tested you in the furnace of affliction for my own sake for my own sake

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I will act for how can my name be profaned in my glory I will not give to another.

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Moses petition to God on behalf of the glory of God was not unlike the petition of Christ as he began to pray in the final hours before going to Calvary's cross as it is recorded for us in John chapter 17 verse 1 where it says

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Jesus spoke these things and lifting up his eyes to heaven he said my father the hour has come glorify your son that the son may glorify you.

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The work of Christ on the cross the prayer which Christ prayed was on the basis of the glory of God.

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You notice earlier in the response that we gave from the question and answer in the catechism that it said prayers and offering up our desires to God by the assistance of the

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Holy Spirit for things agreeable to his will. Things according to the will of the almighty

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God. Pink again is helpful when he writes here is one of the prime secrets in prevailing prayer or prayer that accomplishes just as bowing of the heart to God's sovereign will is the first requirement in a praying soul.

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So having before us the glory of God and the honor of his name is that which chiefly ensures an answer to our petitions.

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Whatsoever ye do do all to the glory of God applies as strictly to our praying as to any other exercise.

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Let us then take to heart this most important lesson taught us in the successful prayer by Moses.

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Moses petitioned God, appealed to God on the basis of God's grace. He then petitioned and appealed to God on the basis of God's glory and finally we see in verse 13 that Jesus said that he petitions

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God based on the faithfulness of God.

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Notice the words he writes, remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants to whom you swore by yourself and you said to them

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I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and all this land of which I have spoken

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I will give to your seed and they shall inherit it forever.

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Notice Moses does not base his appeal to God on the

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Israelites. He never says to God, look

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God I know these people seem like a bunch of idiots. I know these people are rebellious.

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I know these people are stiff necked but in all reality they are good.

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In fact God in all reality they themselves are enough. You know

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God. You get them. This is the mantra of modern day

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Christianity is it not? For those of you that don't know I think just this past week the 2025

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Ligonier study on the theological state of the union was given. The results were and greater than 50 % of those who profess to be

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Christians say that people are inherently good. The problem is the scripture 1000 % disagrees with that statement.

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Moses does not go before God on the petition, in a petition on behalf of the people of Israel by quoting anything to do with the people of Israel.

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He goes to God. He goes to God and appeals to God on God's basis.

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Listen we see the problem here right? That when we appeal in any other way it is this effort to get salvation without change.

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To get this soft Christianity that demands nothing in return that merely seeks to have a

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God who caters to self aggrandizing needs to make ourselves feel good.

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But Moses doesn't sugar coat the actions. He doesn't talk about the people at all.

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In fact all he talks about is what God has promised. Because you see at the end of the day that's all you and I have.

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All you and I have is the promise of God. By faith through Christ we stand just in the eyes of God and all of these things are based on the promises of God.

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So as Moses appeals to the grace and the glory of God he also appeals to the faithfulness of God.

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Laying the promises of God at his feet. Not in an effort to coerce

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God. This is not Moses saying look God you promised all of these things you better do what you promised.

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It is reverently and humbly coming before God saying

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God these are the promises you made. These are the promises on which I have placed all of my faith.

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All of my trust. David confidently does something very similar in 2

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Samuel beginning in chapter 17 or in chapter 7 verse 25 he says so now

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O Yahweh God the word that you have spoken concerning your slave and concerning his house establish it forever.

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And listen to these final words of David in this verse and do as you have spoken.

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This is what it means to lay hold of the promises of God. This is what it means to stand on the reality that God is ever faithful.

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You remember us dealing so much with this problem of change. Now do you see why it's an issue?

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Because if God changes so can his promises and if his promises can change that means they're not trustworthy and if they're not trustworthy then we can't stand on them.

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But God is sure. God's word is sure. It is certain. It is complete.

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It is here. Numbers 23 verse 19 God is not a man that he should lie nor a son of man that he should repent.

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Has he said and will he not do it or has he spoken and he will not establish it.

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This brings us back to God's response in verse 14. We've already somewhat dealt with this and as we dealt with this word relent.

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But we know that God did not change. That all of this was done in accordance with God's purpose and with God's plan.

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One theologian writes there never has been and never will be the smallest occasion for the

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Almighty to affect the slightest deviation from his eternal purpose. For everything was foreknown to him from the beginning and all his counsels were ordered by infinite wisdom.

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When scripture speaks of God's repenting it implores a figure of speech in which the most high condescends to speak in our language.

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What is intended by the above expression is that Jehovah answered the prayer of the typical mediator.

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But notice his response. Notice the words that are displayed.

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Notice the grace that is contained within the last words of verse 14.

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So Yahweh relented concerning the harm which he said he would do to his people.

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If you haven't been keeping up that took us from verse 7 where they were not the people of God any longer.

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They were the people of Moses who Moses brought up. To Moses proclaiming that they were

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God's people. To God relenting. To God showing mercy and grace on his people.

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Once again that they were the people of Israel. That through the intercession of the mediator

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Moses who was imperfect. Who was only a foreshadow of that perfect mediator to come.

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For us thankfully the mediator has been perfected but only to those who come by faith to Christ.

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Israel had shattered the covenant before it was even fully delivered.

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They proved to us just as we prove over and over the doctrine or the teaching of our total inability.

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That our human heart is incapable of loving God apart from his intervening grace.

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Apart from the work of his spirit regenerating us like they.

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We are born rebels. We are unable to rescue ourselves.

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So often we see the depiction as a person drowning with their hand up.

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A drowning person doesn't hold up his hand. A person who fits the model of Ephesians chapter 2 who is dead takes no action.

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It is all of God. For the

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Israelites Moses stood in the gap as their mediator. In a desperate situation he appealed on their behalf.

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Not on their worthiness but on the grace and the glory and the faithfulness of Almighty God.

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It does not change God. It simply unfolds his eternal purpose.

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It simply unfolds the plan to display mercy through a mediator.

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That greater mediator Jesus Christ whose own intercession secures the salvation of all who have faith at the cross.

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Christ stood in the gap. He bore the wrath that we deserved so that God would be both the just and the justifier of sinners.

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His blood speaks a better word than Moses' prayer because it offers ultimate, final, true reconciliation to all who come by faith.

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You see this question remains very personal. If the holy and unchanging

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God has provided the only mediator who can save, do you continue in your strength or do you humbly come to Christ, placing your faith in him, trusting his perfect intercession on your behalf?

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Let us pray. Merciful Father, Lord we bow before you in awe of your holiness.

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We stand amazed at the reality that you never did. We stand amazed that your plans never change, that your purposes are sure and certain, that they never fluctuate, they're never altered.

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Lord, we confess before you that just like Israel, our hearts are prone to wonder.

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That all too often we are quick to rebel, but Father we rejoice that your steadfast love has given us a mediator, our

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Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the truth that he stands before your throne, that he intercedes on our behalf even today.

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Or teach us to pray as Moses prayed, with humility, with boldness, with confidence in your promises.

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Help us to stay from the thinking that our prayers manipulate you.

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Help us to see them as communion with you, the

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God who never changes. Father, we pray that you strengthen our faith, that you strengthen our ability to rest in Christ's finished work, to trust in your sovereign plan and to glorify you in all things.

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Father, may your spirit draw us near, may it sanctify our desires, conform us to the image of your

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Son Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray that you continue to love your Son until that day when we hold your glory face to face.

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the name of Jesus Christ, our perfect mediator, we pray. Amen.