It is for this purpose that God the Lord has brought you out of Egypt, for this purpose that He has written and revealed His Word to you — that you should have Life and Fellowship with Him, that you should eat and drink in His presence, in peace and without fear. Indeed, this is your Life, both now and forever — to be and abide with God in harmony, in holy faith and holy love, in Christ.
In view of that divine Life to which He calls you, do all that He has commanded you. Fear, love and trust in Him above all things. Hear and heed His Word. Call upon His holy Name. Follow the Cloud of His Glory by day, His Pillar of Fire by night, and dwell with Him in His Tabernacle.
Eat and drink the Food that He provides — the Living Bread from heaven, the Living Water from the Rock — for these are your Meat and Drink indeed, even here and now in the wilderness.
So, also, love one another; for love is of God, and you and your brothers and sisters in Christ are His own people, the beloved sheep of His green pasture. Love is the fulfillment of the whole Law; for love does no harm to the neighbor, but helps him and supports him in all things, at all times.
Do not yearn for the feasting and fashions of Egypt, from which the Lord has set you free. Do not return to your sins, like a dog to its vomit, nor indulge in the lusts of your flesh, like a pig in its wallow. Rather, stay the course and trust the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and spirit.
Do not grow restless in the desert, nor suppose that the Lord has forgotten you or failed to keep His promises. Tremble in fear of the Lord, to be sure, for He is the Holy One before whom all creation bows in reverence. But do not quail in terror and deathly despair, as though His desire were to destroy you. It is not. His desire is to save you and give you Life, because He loves you.
Repent of your false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. And do not attempt to fathom the heart and Spirit of God apart from His incarnate Son, Jesus the Christ, the beloved and well-pleasing One, the new and greater Joshua who serves you in love. Not even Moses enters the glorious presence of the Lord God Almighty apart from this Joshua, Christ Jesus, the Word-made-Flesh who tabernacles among His own with grace, mercy, and peace.
The Law of God is good and wise. It instructs you in the way that leads to Life in fellowship and harmony with the Holy Trinity. Yet, apart from Christ Jesus it is a consuming Fire, which accuses and condemns you and threatens to destroy you utterly and forever. It exposes the darkness in your heart and mind, the self-idolatry and lack of love in your thoughts, words, and deeds. It uncovers the nakedness of your sin and the stench of death that already clings to the carcass of your flesh.
Apart from Christ Jesus, you are an animated corpse, merely biding your time on the way to your grave (and far worse) — separated from the Living God and devoid of His Life-giving Holy Spirit.
Who, then, shall save you from this body of death and the darkness and damnation of your sin?
It is Jesus, Jesus, only Jesus, the beloved Son of the Living God. He is the Holy One of Israel. He is the Christ, your Savior. He is the Glory of God — in Person — in the Flesh. He is the Sacrifice of Atonement, and His Blood is the New Covenant of peace and reconciliation with God. You are anointed with the Holy Spirit unto Life, and you have Fellowship with the Father, only in Jesus.
So, listen to Him. Hear what He says to you, take it to heart and believe it, and live by His Word.
Consider also the touch of His hand — His Body given for you — and be raised up from the death of doubt and fear to Life and Hope and Peace and Joy in His holy Flesh and precious Blood.
He has brought you through the waters out of Egypt. He has baptized you in the Cloud and in the Sea of His own Exodus, His Cross and Resurrection. And so shall He bring you through the Jordan into Canaan, the Promised Land, flowing with Milk and Honey and every Good Thing.
Not Moses the Lawgiver, but this new and greater Joshua does it, who is the fulfillment of the Law. By the Gospel of His Cross and His forgiveness of your sins, He brings you in with Himself.
So shall He bring you at last up to the high and holy Mountain of God in and with Himself. That is, not to Sinai, but to the true Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, His Holy Hill — not consumed with fire and brimstone, lightning and thunder and billowing smoke, but bathed in the beauty of His divine holiness and cloaked with the radiance of His righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.
The time is not yet. But do not fret, do not be afraid, do not hide yourself away. Do not withdraw from the world and curl up inside yourself. Do not lie there frozen, nor sit there dumbfounded.
See, here is Jesus. Stand up, and follow Him. He is your Pillar of Cloud by day and Fire by night.
He leads you forward by the way of His Cross. That is hard to understand, more difficult to bear, but it will not defeat you. It is by the wood of His Cross that He parts the sea and opens the Rock and pours down Manna from heaven, by the wood of His Cross that He defeats all your enemies, sin, death, the devil, and hell, the world with its wickedness, and the treachery of your own flesh.
Cease your grumbling and complaining. The Lord has heard the cries and lamentations of your heart, and He has already acted to save you by His mighty arm and His outstretched hands.
So, then, close your mouth altogether, and first of all open your ears to hear what Christ Jesus the Lord shall say to you; for you have nothing worth saying until He has spoken and you have listened. Then open your mouth and be fed. Eat from His hand, drink from His Cup. And after He has filled you with Himself, confess what He has said, what He has done, what He has given.
Yes, you’re in the wilderness — and Jesus is right there with you all the way. You’ll not starve, for He is feeding you. Your shoes will not wear out, your feet will not blister or swell, so long as you follow Him. Though an army encamp against you, do not be afraid. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is with you; the Lord God of Sabaoth is for you.
Lift up your eyes roundabout and see. You are surrounded by the Glory of the Lord, already in His Ministry of the Gospel here within His Church on earth, and so also in that great Cloud of His witnesses, His saints, who have gone before you in the faith and live forever in His presence: Moses and Elijah, Aaron and his sons, Samuel and David, Peter, James, and John, Mary and Joseph, Simeon and Anna, Stephen and Paul, Timothy and Titus — a multitude of disciples from every nation, tribe, and tongue, which no man could ever count, but God Himself has numbered.
All of them have been transfigured by the Cross of Christ Jesus to share His Resurrection and His Life everlasting. And you are likewise being transfigured by His Cross. Not yet outwardly — for your mortal flesh is still wasting away — but inwardly you are being renewed, day by day, in hope and expectation of the Glory that shall be revealed in you, both body and soul, in the Resurrection.
Here and now the surety of that exceedingly great and precious Promise is being given to you — the Word of Christ Jesus in your ears, in your heart, and in your mouth (for He is not far away but near to you with His Word); and the Body and Blood of Christ Jesus, given and poured out for you, for the forgiveness of all your sins. See, He stretches out His hand, not to harm you, but to save.
To eat and drink in His presence — to feast upon Him, who is the Lord your God in the Flesh — this is already a sweet Foretaste of the neverending Feast to come. It is the endless Sabbath Rest that remains for the people of God. It is your Life and your Salvation in Fellowship with God.
Arise, therefore, and do not fear, but live.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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