Thru the Bible

Intro Announcer: How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent word!

Steve Schwetz: Can prayer really change God's mind? Well, that's the question that sits at the heart of one of the most remarkable prayers in all of Scripture. Welcome to Thru the Bible. I'm your host, Steve Schwetz, and as we journey through God's word together, we're going to encounter the prayers of Abraham, David, Jesus, Paul, and many others.

Each one teaches us something about drawing near to God. But in this study, we come to a prayer that Dr. J. Vernon McGee calls one of the greatest lessons on prayer in the entire Bible. In Exodus 32, Moses stands before God on behalf of a rebellious nation. And through that prayer, Dr. McGee says Moses laid hold of the heart of God and moved the arm of God.

In other words, Moses' prayer for the Israelites changed God's mind. Wow, that's got to be one great prayer. So let's not wait any longer. Join me as we pray for our study and dive right in. Heavenly Father, would You show us more about how we can touch Your heart and then move Your mighty hand to bring us grace and mercy? We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Open to Exodus 31. As we go through the Bible, we study today what seems to be a departure from the tabernacle. But actually, it is not. What we have before us today is the fact that the interval of the giving of the law and the instructions for the tabernacle, Moses spent a great deal of time up there in the mount getting all these instructions, and the children of Israel became a little impatient down there. We're going to see what happened in the broken law.

In chapter 31, we have the workmen who built the tabernacle. And one in particular who was given a special gift for making the articles of furniture, that is, those that were the most difficult to make. I'm reading beginning with chapter 31 at verse one: "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. And I, behold, I have given with him..." And now you have the list of those that worked with him.

This man, we find out, he made certain things very definitely, and he also made the garments, he and his helpers. They were given a special gift for doing this. The Spirit of God equipped them for it. Now, the question might arise whether Bezaleel was an artisan or artificer before. I'm of the opinion that he was. This man was one who worked with the gold and with the silver and with all of these other delicate things. Now, to do this thing for God, he was given a special gift for it.

My feeling is that whatever man's equipped to do, that is the thing that he should do unless God makes it clear to him to do otherwise. In other words, I think that there are a great many people today that are equipped to do certain things that are technical, that are needed in the Lord's work. Now, I find that there are those that cannot speak, and yet they want to speak. I know quite a few laymen that are just determined that they are going to be speakers. They're not equipped for it. They do not have even the semblance of a gift. And yet they will do that.

And yet these men have remarkable gifts in other connections. Now, I know a man in radio today. He's a technical expert. But he wants to speak. Well, the fact of the matter is, he has a special gift, I think, for radio. Well, I don't think that he ought to be speaking. I think that he ought to confine himself to the gift that God has given him.

And I believe that in the church today, there are all sorts of things that need to be done that God gives a special gift for. I remember when I was pastor in Nashville, I had a deacon in the church. He came to me the very first day I was there, and this man had known me from the time I was a boy, and he said to me, "Vernon, don't ever call on me to lead in prayer. I absolutely am frightened to death. I don't know actually what to say. I have a stage fright that must be abnormal; I just can't overcome it. And I make a fool of myself when I try to speak in public."

Now, this man was an executive. The fact of the matter is, he was superintendent of the streetcar company and had charge of their entire equipment. And that was certainly a place of responsibility. But he told me this. He said, "Now, look, I can't do anything publicly. But if there's anything that you want done around this church, or you want done personally, you let me know, and I'll be glad to do it."

And very candidly, I never had a more wonderful helper than that man was. I would call him many times even on Saturday night. Now, the streetcar company, you see, operated all night. He had a crew down there, and I've called him Saturday night to tell him, well, something's come up about Sunday, and we need this for Sunday. For instance, the putting up of a screen or the different arrangement or the putting in of chairs. All I had to do was call him, and he'd have a crew out there in less than an hour.

And I never had anyone that was such a helper as he was. And you know what? Before I left that church, I was thanking God that he did not have the gift to speak in public because it made him faithful at the gift that God had given him. Now, here's a man, Bezaleel. I am of the opinion he could have been very much like some laymen today. He could have said, "Now, look here, Lord, I want to wear these high priestly garments like Aaron, and I want to serve You like that." But God says, "That's not the way you serve Me." And in one sense, his gift is more important than that of Aaron. His gift is one that was essential for the building of the tabernacle.

And I think God will give you a gift, friends, that will develop whatever talent you might have or gift you might have. You see, God gives us talents, but He wants us then to dedicate them to the Lord and let the Spirit of God take us and use us. And that doesn't mean we are all to do the same thing. There is a wrong impression today that in the church, if you can't sing in the choir or teach a Sunday school class or speak publicly or be an usher, that you're pretty much out of it. There's nothing left for you to do. And I think there are literally hundreds of gifts that God gives to men to serve today. And it's up to the individual to determine, find out what that gift is, and it may be whatever God's given you as a talent that He'd like for the Spirit of God to take it and use it for His service.

Now, we have something else in this chapter that is of profound interest, and it's very important to see. And it has to do with this matter of the Sabbath day. And this is something that a great many people pass over. Now, the Sabbath day was given at the very beginning. I take it after creation that it was observed universally because man, having come from the hand of God as His creator and having been given the Genesis account, I'm of the opinion that the creation account was universally known by mankind, and it was perverted and changed.

Now, this matter of the Sabbath day, though, when you come to the Mosaic system, you find out God made it one of the commandments for the children of Israel. And now He makes it very clear that it was just for the children of Israel. Verse 12 now of chapter 31, and I'm reading, and I want you to listen very carefully: "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you."

Now, He said it once to the children of Israel: "My sabbaths, it's a sign between me and you throughout your generations." Now, the Sabbath is given now specifically to the children of Israel. And I take it it was not given to other people. I do not think it's given to the church at all. When anybody says to me, and every now and then someone likes to pull this type of an approach, they say, "When was the Sabbath day changed?" Friends, it never was changed. It was done away with as far as we are concerned.

We are not under the Sabbath day. That's Saturday. And we don't observe Saturday. That's the day Jesus was dead. We're not serving a dead Christ. The first day of the week, He came back from the dead, and the church from the very beginning met on the first day of the week. That's when the church was born, was on the first day of the week. The day of Pentecost was on the day after the Sabbath. It was 50 days, you see. Pentecost means 50, and that very name itself puts it on a Sunday, not on a Saturday.

And therefore, today we don't observe it. Not because it's been changed; it hasn't been. It was given to the children of Israel, specifically to them. Started off with the whole human race, but man got away from God. And as he did, then God gives it specifically to the children of Israel. I'm not through. Let me read verse 14 here: "Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death."

And I'd like to know from these people who say you're to keep the Sabbath day if they keep it all the time. And those of their number who do not keep it, do they put them to death? That's part of it, you see. "For whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people." That's very specific, you can see, and very strong, very strict.

Verse 15, I'm still reading, friends: "Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death." And a man was gathering sticks, and they stoned him in Israel. Now, verse 16: "Wherefore the children of Israel..." Who's He said? The church? No. "Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed."

Now, they are an earthly people belonging to the first creation. The church is a new creation, and it has a new day, and that new day is the first day of the week. Now, in chapter 32, again we are coming to something that is tragic as far as the children of Israel was concerned, and yet here we see one of the greatest teachings and revelations concerning our God and also one of the greatest lessons on prayer that you'll find in the Bible. Moses was a great man of prayer, by the way.

Now, I'll get into the chapter, chapter 32, verse one: "And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him." They thought Moses had gone or that probably he'd been killed or something had happened to Moses. And now they want to make gods, idols, to lead them along the wilderness march.

They were ready to go into idolatry, you see. These people lapsed into it almost immediately. Now, notice what happened. You'd think Aaron now would keep them from going into idolatry. No, Aaron did not. Aaron went right along with the liberalism of the people of wanting to return to idolatry.

Verse two: "And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me." And did you know those earrings in that day were a sign of idolatry? It was a sign these people were serving the gods of Egypt. That's what the earrings meant. Now, they're to bring these earrings.

"And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand..." And notice what it says: "...and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." Now, can you imagine these people lapsing into apostasy this quickly?

Well, it would be amazing to me if it wasn't for the fact that I live in the day that I live in, and I've seen the church lapse into an apostasy that I never dreamed that I'd live to see it. And yet I knew it was going to come someday. Now, notice what happens here. "And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play," which means it was gross immorality. They already have departed from God. They said all His commandments we'll keep; while they are not keeping any of them.

Now, notice verse seven. Now, Moses is on the mount getting the law and the instructions, blueprint, for the tabernacle. "And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt."

"And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people." God didn't redeem them, friends, because they were superior or great or good; they were none of these. God says, "I knew you were a stiffnecked people. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation."

That was a real temptation to Moses. God says, "Now, Moses, I'll use you like I did Abraham and make of you a great nation, and I'll still be able to make My covenant good with Abraham." Now, notice what Moses does. Here is an example of one of the greatest prayers in Scripture. Will you look at it now with me for just a moment?

"And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?" Now, God said to Moses, you remember, God says, "Moses, get thee down for thy people, that thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt."

Now, Moses really talks back to God. There's none of this pious cant and this pious piffle that I hear today in a great many fundamentalist prayers. I think that there's more hypocrisy today in some of our prayers, no wonder prayer meetings are so dead. If we talked honestly and frankly to God, it would make one of the most exciting meetings in the church.

God says to Moses, "Your people that you brought out of the land of Egypt, they've sinned." Moses said, "Lord, I think You made a mistake. I don't recall of ever bringing any people out of Egypt, and I want You to know they're not my people." Listen to what he says: "They're Thy people. Thou hast brought them out of the land of Egypt, and You did it with a mighty hand; I couldn't bring them out. You made a mistake, Lord."

Can you imagine anybody talking to God like that? Moses did. He said, "Lord, they're Your people. They're not my people. And You brought them out; I didn't bring them out." Now, that's the first thing he says. Listen to him the second thing: "Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people."

Now, what Moses says is this: "Lord, they're Your people; You brought them out of the land of Egypt. But also, suppose that You don't go through with taking them into the land. Why, the Egyptians will say, Well, their God was able to take them out of Egypt, but He wasn't able to bring them into the land. Therefore, You'll have to bring them into the land. They're Your people, and You promised to bring them in."

Now, notice the third reason he gives to God. He says, "Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever."

"Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. Lord, You made a promise to them that You'd do this." And that's the way, you remember, He called Moses. He said, "I remember My covenant." Now, Moses just calls His attention to it again. Now, notice: "And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people." I tell you, that moved the arm of God, friends, when Moses prayed like that.

I think if we were a little more honest in our praying to God that we'd see more answers—that is, more visible answers. I think we always get an answer. I think the Lord tells most of us no because we're not really praying honestly to Him. Now, notice what this man Moses does. Now, you'd think he'd come down now and soft-soap the children of Israel. No, sir. Listen to him.

"Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp." Believe me, it was.

"And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear." Oh, they were having a high old time, friends, down there worshipping that golden calf! They were playing and dancing around it, and it was gross, gross immorality. Moses now is going down to the camp. We see him in our next study.

Outro Announcer: Thru the Bible is a five-year study of God's entire Word and together we discover that God's Word is true and every promise is kept. To find out more, visit us at ttb.org or call 1-800-65-BIBLE. We're glad you're with us as we travel Thru the Bible.