As I was pondering this subject of ‘Heavenly Comings’, it occurred to me that the entirety of Scripture is a series of God’s Sovereign Interventions, that I have called A Heavenly Coming.
Where does one begin? The Book of Genesis is all about God’s Heavenly Interventions, or His, A.I.s–Adonai’s Interventions.
I have chosen to introduce this POST using the Book of Exodus.
The story of the Exodus regarding the children of Israel from the land of Egypt is an incredible continuation of the history of God’s people that originated with God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Jacob’s family history, his name being changed to Israel, and the events surrounding his son, Joseph, are historical interventions of God that were the backdrop for the Exodus of Israel from Egypt.
According to Exodus 12:40, on the ‘very’ day, when the nation of Israel left the land of Egypt after the tenth plague, Israel had lived in the land for 430 years. (See Genesis 15:1-19) [I know some question the word ‘very’]
The Exodus of the nation of Israel represents the culmination of God’s A.C.T.I.O.N on behalf of His people that were crying out for deliverance from Egyptian bondage.
The nation of Egypt and the nation of Israel are going to experience God’s Heavenly Coming.
His coming will be orchestrated by Him through two people, Moses and Aaron.
God sent ten plagues upon the nation of Egypt.
Some of these plagues fell up on the nation of Egypt and the nation of Israel; however, beginning with the fourth plague, the plagues fell only upon the nation of Egypt.
God told Moses, Exodus 8:22-24 NKJV, “And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the land. I will make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall be.”
These words were spoken by Moses to Pharaoh.
Plagues four through ten occurred in the land of Egypt; but in the land of Goshen, in Egypt, where God’s people lived, the plagues did not affect the nation of Israel.
God’s intervention was a ‘real and tangible’ difference.
This was the type of ACTION God took to deliver His people.
The word A.C.T.I.O.N. has an acronym. (I like acronyms)
Adonai’s Chosen Time In Our Nation.
Regarding Israel, this was Adonai’s Chosen Time In the Nation of Egypt.
God’s ACTION was His ‘Heavenly Coming’.
The nation of Israel was delivered from Egypt through a series of ten plagues. (Exodus 5-12:36)
The ten plagues caused a lot of ‘ten‘sion.
They were miraculously delivered from Egypt.
Pharaoh and his army pursued Israel soon after they left Egypt.
The nation of Israel found themselves between the Red Sea that was before them, and Pharaoh and his army that was behind them. (Exodus 14:1-12)
Let’ say, they were between a ‘rock and a hard place’.
Circumstantial or by design?
There is no doubt this is God’s sovereignty at work watching over His people.
What a wonderful opportunity for God to reveal Himself.
Does it surprise you that Adonai Intervened?
Absolutely not!
God divided the Red Sea so that Israel passed through on dry ground.
Pharaoh and His army attempting to do the same thing by pursuing them were drowned in that sea by ‘Adonai’s Intervention’ after Israel had safely passed through to the other side. (Exodus 14:13-31)
Israel’s Exodus from Egypt is the beginning of what becomes an arduous journey in the wilderness for Israel.
It was God’s plan to bring His people into the land promised to Israel’s patriarchs: Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. (Genesis 12-50)
Fast forward to Joshua 5:13-15.
Israel has ‘just crossed over’ the Jordan River into the promised land that God had promised to Israel for their homeland.
What does ‘just crossed over’ mean in the history of the nation of Israel?
Their ‘just crossing over’ was 40 years after their departure from Egypt.
Why the delay?
Their unbelief, had put on hold, an entire generation from inheriting the promise of God.
Everyone in the adult generation that had departed originally from Egypt died in the wilderness, except for Joshua, Caleb, and two others.
What happened?
Joshua and Caleb were two of twelve spies sent into the land to ‘check it out’ and report back.
The twelve spies returned.
Ten spies said ‘we can’t do this’; Joshua and Caleb, believed God, and said, ‘Yes, we can do this’.
The bad report prevailed and the result was a 40 year history of wandering in the wilderness until the unbelieving generation had completely died.
Because Joshua and Caleb believed God to fulfill His Word as promised, God was with them (as they waited in the wilderness) and they finally entered the promised land.
But they had to wait until all the previous people who did not believe died out.
The report of the spies said that there were ‘giants’ in the land. (Numbers 13-14)
Their report was true.
The nation of Israel ‘grumbled’ and ‘complained’
This was their normal response since they entered into the wilderness after leaving Egypt.
Initially, they rejoiced, having witnessed, God’s overthrow of Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea.
Three days later, when a need arose, instead of realizing that the same God that had brought them out of Egypt was in their midst, they forget what God had done to Pharaoh and his army, and they grumbled and complained.
In fact, they thought it would be better to return to Egypt.
I would like to suggest that you stop here and take time to read Deuteronomy 8.
Deuteronomy 8 will give you a clear picture of the ‘heart’ of the nation of Israel and their relationship to God. It will also explain to you what God was doing in the ‘heart’ of His people.
Paul, addressing the believers in Corinth, recalling the history of the nation of Israel, specifically their grumbling and complaining in the wilderness, reminds them about their forefathers who died in the wilderness. (I Corinthians 10:1-11:1)
Quoting The MacAuthur Study Bible, page 1743, study notes: 10:1-13, “Ancient Israel’s 40-year journey between Egypt and Caanan (Exodus 13:21; 14:16; 16:15; 17:6) is a sobering illustration of the misuse of freedom and the dangers of overconfidence. The Israelites missed their new found freedom, fell into idolatry, immorality, and rebelliousness, disqualifying themselves from receiving the Lord’s blessing.”
Question: Is this possible today in the Church?
Answer: Absolutely.
I believe that Deuteronomy 8 shows us a progression of the ‘heart’ that can occur in the life of an individual, the Church, or in a nation.
It was mentioned earlier that there were two others who were denied entrance into the land of promise.
Those two were Moses and his brother Aaron.
Moses was the Lord’s hand picked leader to represent Him to lead the nation of Israel out of Egypt.
Aaron had been sent by the LORD to be a support to Moses because of Moses’ reluctance to be what God had chosen him to be. (Exodus 2-4)
Moses was not allowed to enter the land of promise because he disobeyed what God had instructed him to do.
Moses misrepresented the Spirit of the Lord, by ministering in his own spirit.
Numbers 20:1-13 is the context of Moses disobedience.
What’s the issue?
There was no water. (Not an unusual problem in the desert.)
Had this been an issue before? Yes (Exodus 15:22-27)
Ironically, as mentioned before that happened three days after their Red Sea miracle. (Exodus 14-15)
Let’s read what took place that disqualified Moses from entering the promised land.
Numbers 20:7-13 NKJV, “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.” So Moses took the rod, and from before the LORD as He commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” Then Moses lifted has hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.”
What’s wrong with this ‘picture’?
The ‘spirit of the people’ that Moses was leading had gained entrance into ‘his own spirit’ and he, too, spoke like the people, with a verbal rebellion.
His spirit is not being governed by God’s Spirit.
What’s gracious about this ‘picture’?
In spite of Moses’ disobedience, God graciously brought forth water from the rock.
The nation of Israel got what they wanted.
They were unaware of Moses’disobedience.
What happened next?
God confronts Moses and Aaron.
Why?
They spoke for God in the wrong spirit, their own.
(Numbers 20:12-13 NKJV) “Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them. This was the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the LORD, and He was hallowed among them.”
Before we exit Numbers 20, and the aforementioned incident, Numbers 20:22-29 records the death of Aaron, and the installation of Aaron’s son, Eleazar, as High-Priest.
The event of Aaron’s death is not morbid.
His death is for the same reason that an entire generation died out in the wilderness because he did not believe God’s Word spoken to him.
God tells Moses to “Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor; and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; for Aaron shall be gathered to his people and die there….Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. Now when the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, all the house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days.” (Numbers 20:25, 28b, 29 NKJV)
Aaron did not get to enter into the promised land because of disobedience.
This is an account about Heaven Coming/Adonai’s Intervention.
Deuteronomy 35:48-52: God gives instruction to Moses about the end of his life before Him, and He reminds him why he cannot enter into the promised land.
Deuteronomy 34:1-8 records Moses’ last day here on earth.
Moses was shown the land by God .
Deuteronomy 34:4 NKJV: “Then the LORD said to him, “This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants’, I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not go over there.”
Moses’ death is a personal encounter between the two of them.
Think about how much time God and Moses had spent together throughout Moses lifetime.
In spite of Moses’ disobedience, I suggest, God honored their relationship personally overseeing Moses’ death.
Deuteronomy 34:5-6 NKJV says, “So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day.”
Many people believe that the promised land is a reference to heaven.
I personally do not hold that position.
If that were true, then logically, Moses is not in heaven because he did not get to enter into the land because of his disobedience.
Consider this, Matthew 17:1-8, tells us that Jesus went up onto a mountain top with Peter, James, and John.
On this mountain top, Jesus was transfigured, meaning there is a change in HIS appearance that affirmed “the essential glory of Jesus the Messiah.” (insert mine from the MacArthur Study Bible)
I bring this to our attention because standing on the mountain top, next to the ‘transfigured’ Jesus are two people, Moses and Elijah.
Commentators say that Moses represents the Law and that Elijah represents the prophets.
Moses is ok.
His disobedience is forgiven, and forgotten.
He has received God’s grace and mercy.
But, one may ask, where does it say that in the Bible?
I do not believe that it does; but it is certainly implied.
There is an interesting passage of scripture that I believe verifies Moses relationship to God has been reconciled.
Jude 9 (The Tree of Life Version), says, “But when Michael the archangel, disputing with the devil, was arguing about the body of Moses, he did not dare to render a judgment against him to slander, but said, “May the Lord rebuke you.”
I bring this scripture to our attention not to consider the issues for its inclusion by the Holy Spirit, but to substantiate what I shred about the relationship between God and Moses personally.
And,
when you consider Hebrew 11:23-29, the testimony of Moses has a legacy of faith that motivated him.
Moses is a sinner just like you and me.
Moses is not a perfect man.
“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” Romans 3:23 NKJV (MacArthur Study Bible)
In fact, Moses was a murderer(Exodus 2:11-13) and he found forgiveness.
Moses spent 40 years in the desert from the time he had killed an Egyptian and the time God called and chose him to lead His nation, Israel.
I believe Moses confessed his sin and found forgiveness for his act of murder just as he found forgiveness by not speaking to the rock as he was told to do by God.
Why do I believe this?
As mentioned before, God took personal oversight in Moses’ burial.
In closing: ‘Heaven’ came to earth to intervene in the life of the nation of Israel.
They were taken ‘out of’ Egypt to be ‘brought into’ the land of God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
God keeps His Word.
Moses has died and God has buried him.
Now, there must be a change in leadership.
Who did God choose to replace Moses?
Moses’ understudy, Joshua.
Joshua means ‘Jesus Saves’ or ‘the LORD is salvation’.
TBC
Personal note: At the end of this day, I realized that in principle I, too, did the same thing Moses had done. I was instructed not to do something; yet I did what I was instructed not to do. Therefore, I have transgressed against one who is an authority in my life. I have asked the Lord to forgive me; and now I need to tell the one whose words I did not obey, about my disobedience, and ask his forgiveness.
your brother in Christ, deo
Living Words of Encouragement 