2. Moses quoted the law. Verse 13 remember what You promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

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1 Session 9 Biblical Cases Supreme Court of Heaven Series I. Learning From Biblical Cases: Moses A. Moses argument in Exodus 32:7-14 Exodus 32:7 14 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8 They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt! 9 The LORD said to Moses, I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. 10 Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation. 11 Then Moses entreated the LORD his God, and said, O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever. 14 So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people. 1. Moses stated the facts: You are angry with us. You brought us out of Egypt. Your enemies are questioning your integrity (with evil intent He brought them out to kill them). 2. Moses quoted the law. Verse 13 remember what You promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob 3. Moses presented evidence You brought them out of Egypt with Your might hand performing signs, wonders and miracles. 4. Moses appealed to the Judge s character By reminding the Judge of His promises and actions Moses was speaking to the Judge s faithfulness, kindness and justice. 5. Moses offered the prayer Verse 12. Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people. 1

2 6. The Judge rendered a decision Verse 14 The LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people. B. Moses appealed to God with three arguments, all of which appealed to God s character of consistency and faithfulness. 1. The first is: Why should God nullify the result of His demonstration of divine power? ( whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand ). Israel is God s people, for whom He has done so much that surely He will not now destroy them, and so undo His own work. 2. The second is: Why should God grant the Egyptians delight in seeing the Israelites crushed and by their own God? ( Why should the Egyptians say, It was with evil intent that He brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth ). Egypt will be triumphant if Israel is swept away, and will get the wrong impression about the Divine action. 3. The third is: Why should God go back on His promises to the patriarchs? ( Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by Your own self: I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever ). The promises made to Abraham (Gen. 15:5; 17:2 6; etc.), Isaac (ib. 26:4), and Jacob (ib. 28:14; 35:11), which had received a partial fulfillment, would seem to be revoked and withdrawn if the nation already formed were destroyed and a fresh start made. C. Moses hoped that his argument would be successful but, his confidence may have been based more on his relationship with Yahweh than on his skill in prayer. D. Reminding God of His promises was hardly needed from the point of view of God s memory; it was (and is), rather, a means of showing his faith in who God was. Note: This is one of many passages in Scripture that demonstrate God s responsiveness to the prayer of a righteous person prayed not for selfish reasons but out of a desire to see God s will accomplished. This kind of appeal, by Moses, to God appears again, though not in exactly the same form or wording, in Num 14:13 19 (in connection with the rebellion in the wilderness) and in Deut 9:26 29 (a reminder of the present context). Abraham appealed to God s character and past faithfulness in Gen 18:22 32 on behalf of the city of Sodom. 2

3 II. Learning From Biblical Cases: Jeremiah Jeremiah 14:7, 10, 17-21, 15:19 7 Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for Your name s sake! Truly our apostasies have been many, We have sinned against You. 10 Thus says the LORD to this people, Even so they have loved to wander; they have not kept their feet in check. Therefore the LORD does not accept them; now He will remember their iniquity and call their sins to account. 17 You will say this word to them, Let my eyes flow down with tears night and day, And let them not cease; For the virgin daughter of my people has been crushed with a mighty blow, With a sorely infected wound. 18 If I go out to the country, Behold, those slain with the sword! Or if I enter the city, Behold, diseases of famine! For both prophet and priest Have gone roving about in the land that they do not know. 19 Have You completely rejected Judah? Or have You loathed Zion? Why have You stricken us so that we are beyond healing? We waited for peace, but nothing good came; And for a time of healing, but behold, terror! 20 We know our wickedness, O LORD, The iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against You. 21 Do not despise us, for Your own name s sake; Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory; Remember and do not annul Your covenant with us. 15:19 Therefore, thus says the LORD, If you return, then I will restore you Before Me you will stand; And if you extract the precious from the worthless, You will become My spokesman. They for their part may turn to you, But as for you, you must not turn to them. The children of Israel were continually being prosecuted for their crimes. (1) The drought (14:2 6). Jeremiah alone is the speaker, and he expresses his dissatisfaction about the devastation that has stricken the entire land. People and animals are suffering from the lack of water. (2) The people of Judah cry out for help (14:7 9). The people confess their sins and acknowledge that the LORD is Israel s only hope. They pray that the LORD may not completely abandon them. (3) The LORD S reply (14:10 12). The LORD replies with a threat of destruction rather than with mercy. His people have committed terrible sins, and they must die. No sacrifice or offering will be acceptable to the LORD. (4) Jeremiah blames the false prophets (14:13). By placing the burden of guilt upon the false prophets, Jeremiah hopes to excuse the people. (5) Prophets and people alike are guilty (14:14 16). The LORD replies that He will punish the false prophets and those people who listened to them. No one will escape! (6) The coming destruction (14:17 18). Jeremiah has a vision of the coming destruction, which causes him to shed bitter tears over the fate of his people. (7) The people plead with the LORD (14:19 22). This is similar to the petition of verses 7 9, only it is much stronger. The people ask the LORD why He has completely rejected His nation, and they plead with Him not to break His covenant. They acknowledge that He alone is able to provide rain for the earth. 3

4 (8) Jeremiah s prayer in regard to his enemies (15:10 21). Jeremiah speaks to the LORD about his suffering (verses 10 12). The LORD replies (verses 13 14). Then Jeremiah speaks further about his suffering caused by his enemies (verses 15 18). Finally the LORD promises to help Jeremiah (verses 19 21). A. Jeremiah s argument in Jeremiah Jeremiah stated the facts He honestly said. Verse 7 Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for Your name s sake! Truly our apostasies have been many, We have sinned against You. 2. Jeremiah produced evidence Evidence came from the testimony of the Lord Verse 10 Even so they have loved to wander; they have not kept their feet in check. 3. Jeremiah referred to the law Verse 10 Therefore the LORD does not accept them; now He will remember their iniquity and call their sins to account. 4. Jeremiah pleaded on the basis of Court precedent Verse 19 Have You completely rejected Judah? Or have You loathed Zion? Why have You stricken us so that we are beyond healing? We waited for peace, but nothing good came; And for a time of healing, but behold, terror! Have You rejected Judah completely? Do you despise Zion? Have You afflicted us so that we cannot be healed? No, You haven t rejected us totally, You do not despise us So, Heal us. 5. Jeremiah offered the prayer He acknowledged the wickedness and sin of the people and pleaded for God s favor and forgiveness. Verse 14:20-21 We know our wickedness, O LORD, The iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against You. 21 Do not despise us, for Your own name s sake; Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory; Remember and do not annul Your covenant with us. 6. The Judge rendered a decision Jeremiah 15:19 Therefore, thus says the LORD, If you return, then I will restore you Before Me you will stand; And if you extract the precious from the 4

5 worthless, You will become My spokesman. They for their part may turn to you, But as for you, you must not turn to them. The Judge s decision was conditional and rested on their response. It was an if/then decision. Just like 2 Chronicles 7:14 III. Learning From Biblical Cases: Isaiah Isaiah 15:1 3 The oracle concerning Moab. Surely in a night Ar of Moab is devastated and ruined; Surely in a night Kir of Moab is devastated and ruined. 2 They have gone up to the temple and to Dibon, even to the high places to weep. Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba; Everyone s head is bald and every beard is cut off. 3 In their streets they have girded themselves with sackcloth; On their housetops and in their squares Everyone is wailing, dissolved in tears. Isaiah 16:3 5 Give us advice, make a decision; Cast your shadow like night at high noon; Hide the outcasts, do not betray the fugitive. 4 Let the outcasts of Moab stay with you; Be a hiding place to them from the destroyer. For the extortioner has come to an end, destruction has ceased, Oppressors have completely disappeared from the land. 5 A throne will even be established in lovingkindness, And a judge will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent of David; Moreover, he will seek justice And be prompt in righteousness. God raised up nations around Israel to be instruments of judgment against His people, Moab was one of these. Isaiah began identifying these powers and exposing their sin. They had arrogantly gone beyond God s boundaries in punishing Israel. Even Babylon, which would fulfill the course begun by Assyria, would be unable to stand. All earthly powers directed against God and His purposes will be cut off. Isaiah says: My heart shall cry out for Moab; though they are enemies to Israel, they are our fellow-creatures, of the same rank with us, and therefore it should grieve us to see them in such distress, the rather because we know not how soon it may be our own turn to drink of the same cup of trembling. Isaiah s heart cries out for Moab This is intercession and a Court Case for Moab a people living on the East side of the Jordon at the southern end of the Dead Sea who historically were enemies of the Hebrew people.. Note, it is good policy for God s ministers to have a tender spirit, not to desire the revenge, but to be like Jesus, who wept over Jerusalem even when He gave her up to ruin; to be like God, who desires not the death of sinners. Isaiah gives good counsel to the Moabites, to reform what was wrong among them, and particularly to be kind to God s people, as the likeliest way to prevent the judgments before threatened (v. 1 5). It benefits everyone to be kind to the people of God because it brings the blessing of God upon nations and families. 5

6 A. Isaiah in Isaiah 15:1-3 and 16: Isaiah stated the facts 15:1-2 Surely in a night Ar of Moab is devastated and ruined; Surely in a night Kir of Moab is devastated and ruined. They have gone up to the temple and to Dibon, even to the high places to weep. Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba; Everyone s head is bald and every beard is cut off. 2. Isaiah presented evidence 15:3 In their streets they have girded themselves with sackcloth; On their housetops and in their squares Everyone is wailing, dissolved in tears. 3. Isaiah offered the prayer Pleading for God s counsel. 16:3 Give us advice, make a decision; Cast your shadow like night at high noon; Hide the outcasts, do not betray the fugitive. 4. Isaiah elaborated on the prayer 16:4 Let the outcasts of Moab stay with you; Be a hiding place to them from the destroyer. For the extortioner has come to an end, destruction has ceased, Oppressors have completely disappeared from the land. 5. The Judge rendered a decision The Judge stated the outcome of His decision. 16:5 A throne will even be established in lovingkindness, And a judge will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent of David; Moreover, he will seek justice And be prompt in righteousness. Some commentators assert that the judge who will sit on the throne in the tent of David was Hezekiah, who would come to the aid of the Moabites during their time of oppression by the Assyrians. Since this coming ruler will execute justice and will sit on the throne forever, these characteristics are more consistent with those of Jesus the Messiah. So, God was pointing to someone much greater than Hezekiah. So basically God The Judge was saying they need to put their faith in the Messiah to come. 6