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Exodus 19:16-20 Long hard obedience

Good morning fellow pilgrims,

 I have recently started catechizing myself.  All started as a result of my last sermon.  Part of the answer to the question "What are the duties required in the first commandment?" is worshipping and glorifying the only true God by thinking, meditating and remembering.  So I did a little of that this morning.

May you grow in grace as you read the passages and my attempts to encourage you.

Blessings,

Jeff

Having just studied Esther in men's D, thought about the "life or death" for anyone seeking to see the king without being summoned and Moses being called to go up on Mt Sinai.  Esther was not summoned and only hope was the king would extend the golden scepter.  Moses was summoned but to a place that no other human was allowed to even approach.  Esther was going to petition the king on behalf of her people., Moses was going to hear from the Lord on behalf of His people.  Both were preceded by 3 days of consecration by the people.  One person is the mediator between Israel and king/God.  So I wonder if Esther and Mordecai reflected on what Moses had done.  In the grand scheme of things, what Esther did was no big deal in comparison to what Moses did.

Then we must think about Jesus, the better Moses.  In that comparison, all the thunder and lightning, the shaking of the mountain and of the people were nothing to what happened on the cross.  It was the 3 days after the cross, not the 3 days before the cross that truly consecrated God's people.

Instruction - What does God expect from me?  While each sequence is significant in its own context, they cannot be seen in that context alone.  Redemptive history is one story line from Genesis to Revelation.  We can do the small acts of obedience because of Jesus infinite act of obedience.

Thanksgiving - Active and passive obedience of the Son to the will of the Father.  Any other concept of God except as Trinity does not make sense.  The method of salvation is an act of a God who is a Trinity.  My feeble words cannot begin to express awe of who You are O LORD.

Confession - Desiring easy obedience.  If it doesn't interrupt my schedule or make me uncomfortable, then I am happy to do it.  Yet Jesus is all about hard obedience.

Petition - Train Your people for hard obedience.

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