First Baptist Church
9 West Main St. Earlville, NY 13332
Inviting and Accepting
Rev. Jeremy B. Stopford, Pastor
“NEVERTHELESS” (Exodus 16:26-28)
February 18, 2018
TODAY’S SPECIAL
A “Memorial Funny”
An elderly woman died last month. Having never married, she requested no male pallbearers.
In her handwritten instructions for her memorial service, she wrote, “They wouldn’t take me out while I was alive, I don’t want them to take me out when I’m dead.”
INTRODUCTION
If you have been reading your Bible for any length of time, or even if you are just starting to develop a habit in the Scriptures, there is a word that you may have come across and paid little attention to. The word is the subject of today’s message. “Nevertheless”. God places this word at timely moments. In fact, in the NIV He purposely puts in there 40 times (27 in OT, 13 in NT). In the Old King James, it Is there 97 times; and in my New King James, some 118 well-placed transcriptions of the Hebrew and Greek languages are found. It is an important word. Let’s find out the pattern of its use.
PRAYER
THE PATTERN OF “NEVERTHELESS”:
#1. A DOCTRINE (v. 26)
* This is a Biblical principle that the Lord is desiring for those who call Him Father and Lord. This is not a man-made teaching; rather it is a God directed pattern upon which God desires His child to govern his or her life. * Any and all doctrines are designed for the good of God’s people. They are not a hardship; rather, they encourage one simple word: trust! Trust that the Lord is ALWAYS true to His Word! * In v. 26, the doctrine is the law of the sabbath as regarding working and food. We are introduced in verses 1-26 to God’s provision for the people of Israel while they are wandering between Egypt and the promised land of Israel. * Note what we glean from these first 25 verses:
A. The timing (v. 1) is 45 or so days after leaving Egypt. The people are grumbling (v. 2) because they have no food.
B. What is the difference between v. 3 and v. 26? In verse 26, they are wandering in the wilderness. In their reflections in v. 3, they are…SLAVES! They are not free. They are not working for a living – they are working for the State of Egypt and for the Pharaoh’s pleasure. But by v. 26, they were once again reasoning that it might have been a good thing to be a slave!
C. In v. 4 we are introduced to God’s provision, “bread from heaven.” Do you remember the conversation in John 6? The people of Jesus’ day were harping that they were already God’s people, they were followers of Moses, and how that MOSES had provided them bread in the wilderness. Do you remember Jesus’ response? (1) My Father provided that bread; and (2) I am the Bread of Life. We know from the NT description that Exodus 16 is a test to show that the provision of manna is an earthly picture of the big picture of the Father’s provision of His own Son! And we are today invited to TRUST Him! Do we? And where can we show we trust Him? His Word! Deut. 8:3 quoted in the NT!
D. In v.16 we learn the weight of the provision: the people are to collect an “omer” per each person in the household. Most footnotes show than an “omer” weighs about 3 pounds. You have an household of 5 people, you collect 15 omers of manna; 3 people? 9 omers. And everyone was completely filled – IF they did what God directed. Look at v. 18 – God’s provision brought contentment!
E. And on the 6th day (v. 23), they were to gather double as much. This is so they could enjoy a sabbath rest. The 6th day was a purposeful season of work – they were not to do on the sabbath what they could have done the day before.
ILLUSTRATION
I remember my first pastor and what his family did on SATURDAY. The pastor would gas up the vehicle so he wouldn’t have to do that on Sunday. His wife would do all the shopping so that there would be no need to shop on Sunday. IN FACT, as late as the 70’s most stores were closed on Sundays! Gas stations seemed to be always open. In just a short time, times changed. WHY? Because part of the mindset is that if we work more, we have more. (that’s being simplistic – I know there are exceptions. BUT ask some of the older folk in our congregation – and you will find that many of the wives DID not work, because they were content with the provision the husband made – and they lived accordingly!
* This was a good doctrine – a test by the loving Heavenly Father. He would faithfully provide. And He wanted His people to trust, and in their trust, obey.
#2. A DECISION (v. 27a)
* This is the place of the crossroads – a place where two roads meet and one must decide which road to travel
* We are introduced to the key word, “nevertheless”. The word SHOULD NOT be there. The verse SHOULD say, “and the people willingly trusted the Lord and obeyed Him.”
* Our key word is a decision word. It is the word at the crossroads which says, “God is testing me. He is giving me a choice, to trust or to go my way. There is something in me which does not understand His test. Perhaps I should test the waters before fully trusting Him.”
* OK, perhaps we’re being too harsh on the Israelites. So then, put yourselves in their shoes and be honest. God says, “I will provide all your needs. You say, “I NEED A 75 INCH FLAT SCREEN TV LIKE MY NEIGHBOR HAS.” So you go and put the TV on credit – and can’t pay it off for 10 years. In the meanwhile, a kid puts a shoe through the TV, the very item you thought you must have. You are stuck, because…you didn’t trust at the crossroads.
SO THE DECISION LEADS TO…
#3. A DISOBEDIENCE (v. 27b)
* “Some” – it is fortunately only “some” – but it is ALWAYS “some” who fail to respond in faith to the test.
* What did they do? They went out on the Sabbath to gather bread. The bread wasn’t there. God said it wouldn’t be there. So then why did they go looking for it?
* There is an old adage, surely not original with me: partial obedience is absolute disobedience. These people went through the rituals of faith, but not the trust.
* Did you catch that? And could that ever be you? How easy it is to go through faith’s “rituals”: to be in church, to serve in various places, but for what? To get God’s brownie points? OR because you love and trust the Lord? These few Israelites were disobedient.
AND THAT DISOBEDIENCE ENDS UP WITH:
#4. A DISAPPOINTMENT (v. 28)
* Read v. 28 with a hankie in your hand – not for you, but for God’s tears. Can you hear His tears in His words, “How long will you refuse to keep (obey)…?”
* How long? That means that this disobedience is ongoing until the heart goes back to where it began – with the doctrine, the principles of God’s Word that a loving Heavenly Father is encouraging His children to follow and obey.
CONCLUSION
So let’s wrap this up. We began with a doctrine, a principle of God’s heart. God loves to instruct. Yet His instructions are also a test to obedience. And the heart at the crossroads hungers to satisfy both directions of the test.
And God wisely introduces that crossroads with the word “nevertheless.” Look for it throughout the Scriptures.
Some choose to disobey. It is easy to go through the motions of faith; some choose to say “no” to God and feel no remorse while at the same time hurt the cause of Christ that He has called His church to fulfill.
And finally, there is one aspect we often ignore: God’s tears of disappointment. His “how long”.
This week, maybe even today, God will test each of us with the choice to follow and obey His doctrines, His principles of true living in Christ. May that test raise the Heavenly Red Flags of Decision, Disobedience, and Disappointment BEFORE we get to the crossroads and regret the decision we make.
OH may “nevertheless” not be a part of our walk with Jesus this week!