The Day of the Lord (Part 1)

In the following two studies we will trace the nation of Israel from Egypt to Mount Sinai and through the conquest of Canaan. This first part is an introduction and brings the read to the time when Israel is read to cross the Jordan, also in this first part we compare the establishment of natural Israel as a nation with the establishment of a new spiritual nation in Christ.

Delivered by Sign and Wonders

God sent Moses to call the descendents of Abraham out of Egypt to give them the land of Canaan. Acts 7:17 “But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt”. Moses’ commission from the burning bush was Ex 4:22, 23 “And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me”. Though a mixed company left Egypt it was to Abraham’s descendents Moses was sent. Similarly Jesus came to call the spiritual seed of Abraham, those with the faith of Abraham out of spiritual Egypt. Mat 10:5,6 Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Spiritual Israel was not called to literal Canaan but spiritual Canaan, God’s rest in Christ Jesus. The phrase signs and wonders was used to describe both the plagues that Moses brought on Egypt and the miracles Jesus preformed. Ex 7:3 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. Act 2:22 “. . . Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you . . .”. It was not from the bondage of Egypt that Jesus would deliver, but from the bondage of sin and death. John 8:34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. It would be the reviving of faith in the promises of God that Jesus brought would begin to break the bondage that lay on the children of Abraham. Mat 11: 28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. The complaint of Pharaoh against Moses was Ex 5:4-5. . . Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens. And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens”. In Jesus day the Scribes and Pharisees made the burdens of the Jews much greater. Math 23:4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

Just as the plagues that Moses brought upon Egypt would separate the descendents of Abraham from the Egyptians, the miracles Jesus preformed would make a separation between those of Israel who had the faith of Abraham and those who did not. To Zacchaeus Jesus said “This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham”. To the Pharisees Jesus said, John 8:39 “If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham”. As the number of miracles Jesus preformed increased the division between the believing and the disbelieving increased. John 7:12 And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people. John 9:16 Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them. As the Passover drew near the miracles that Jesus performed would increasingly harden the leaders of Israel much like the plagues hardened the heart of Pharaoh. Luke 6:10-11 And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus. The raising of Lazarus from the dead near the end of Jesus’ ministry being like a plague to the leaders of Israel made the offering of the antitypical Passover lamb possible. John 11:47-48 “Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation”. Little did the leaders of Israel know by slaying Jesus they would bring the great deliverance predicted by the Passover feast.

The Trumpet at Mount Sinai

Jesus resurrection was pictured 3 days later by the waving of the sheaf of first fruits. From this time if we count 50 days we come to Pentecost. Fifty days from Israel’s departure from Egypt would place Israel in the wilderness. It is a Jewish belief that the law was given to Moses on the day of Pentecost. The Hebrew word used for the trumpet that called Israel to the Mount is the word Jubilee. Ex 19:13 . . . when the trumpet (Jubilee) soundeth long, they shall come up to the Mount. The use of the word Jubilee in Exodus 19:13 may be pointing us to the 50^th day, the day of Pentecost, just as the Jubilee is the 50^th year, the trumpet sounding from the mount may have been an early announcement of the Liberty that the seed of Abraham would receive in the 50^th year of Jubilee. Lev 25:10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a Jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. Israel had received liberty from the bondage of Pharaoh but there would be an ever greater liberty in store for the nation, the trumpet of Jubilee may have been an early proclamation of this liberty. In the New Testament this might be compared to the glorious liberty of the sons of God.

There is limited use of the word Jubilee in the Old Testament; it appears in Leviticus chapters 25, 27 and Numbers 36. Each of these references speaks of the feast of Jubilee. The only other references are in Exodus 19:13 which we have considered and also in Joshua chapter 6. The references in Joshua 6 speak of the trumpets used by the 7 priests who circled Jericho 7 days. These trumpets could have similar meaning as the trumpet heard from Mount Sinai, one difference these trumpets were sounded when Israel began to take possession Canaan.

A Sanctuary for the Lord

On the day of Pentecost as the spirit of God was poured out on the early church, God pitched a tabernacle in the hearts of his people. This is what we see at Mount Sinai, Israel built a tabernacle in the midst of the nation where God would dwell among them. Ex 25:8 . . . let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. The tabernacle Israel built was not setup until almost a year after Israel came to Mount Sinai Ex40:17. This also may be in harmony with what actually happened in the days of the early church. Though there was a large number who were gathered in the upper room at Pentecost this was only a portion of those who would make up the early church. Those gathered in the upper room did provide a dwelling for God in their hearts, but I wonder if the tabernacle set up a year later pictured a greater structure constructed by the apostles, elders and the various members of the church using the gifts of the spirit. This structure may have been a structure of faith, doctrine and uplifting works. As each willingly used their gifts to build up the church this structure was raised. The gifts given the early church may be what we see in men such a Bezaleel and Aholiab who were also given gifts and play important roles in the construction of the original tabernacle. Ex 31:2 See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: 3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4 To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 5 And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. 6 And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee. Ex 35:5 Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass, 6 And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair. Ex 28:3 And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. Ex 35:25 And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen. 26 And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats' hair. Exodus 25 verse 8 nicely shows the purpose of all this work. Ex 25:2-8 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. 3 And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, 4 And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, 5 And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood, 6 Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, 7 Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate. 8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

Peters Ominous Words at Pentecost

In Peter’s sermon at Pentecost there may be statements that connected the activity at Mount Sinai to the first Pentecost celebrated by the early church in Acts. Cloven tongs of fire set upon each and we know it was in fire that the Lord descended upon the mount. At Mount Sinai there was lighting, thunder, an earthquake and darkness in which the Lord descended. Peter’s quotation of Joel carries the idea of an ominous scene as happened at Mount Sinai. Act 2:16-21 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 19 And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: 21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

In the wilderness we find many points that fit the time of the early church, a new nation was born out of Egypt, Israel came under the blood of the covenant, a new priesthood began to function, the Lord began to dwell among his people, the gifts of the spirit were given and how the construction of the tabernacle may have pictured the activities of the early church to organize under the guidance of the holy spirit. We see a string of events which may place the fulfillment of the original Exodus and the events surrounding the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai in the days of the early church. If we consider the book of Exodus as a whole, it tells us how Israel as a nation began and it ends in the last chapter with the setting up of the tabernacle one year after Israel arrived at the Mount. The entire book of Exodus may be pointing us to the time when a new spiritual nation begins, not based on the 12 sons of Jacob but the 12 apostles, Jesus being the instrument God used to cut out without hands a nation from the midst of a nation.

The Battle for Canaan

At this point in our study we have Israel in the wilderness, God dwelling in their midst in a divinely appointed structure built by the Lord’s people. We might wonder what comes next, what is ahead for Israel? We have traced the story of Israel as they parallel the church from the Passover to Pentecost. Peter’s statements at Pentecost may give a clue; “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come”. This may seem an odd time to make reference to the Day of the Lord. If we consider Israel’s purpose, Israel was carried on eagle’s wings gathered by the Lord to the Mount, but their rest was in Canaan. This gathering at Mount Sinai, Moses speaks of as a gathering of the Saints. Israel at Sinai was an army in preparation for an assault against the land of Canaan. Once the covenant was sealed within the nation, the tabernacle built and God dwelling in their midst, the battle for Canaan would begin. The pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was a sure sign of the coming Day of the Lord and fall of this present evil world to the saints. Deu 33:2-5 . . .The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them. 3 Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words. 4 Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. 5 And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together. Jude 1:14,15 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. In part two of this study we will consider the Day of the Lord and how it parallels Israel’s taking possession of Canaan.