ESOCS Devotional 23 June 2024 – Salvation is of God
MEMORY VERSE: “And the Lord said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke.” Exodus 34:1 NKJV
TEXT: EXODUS 34:1-15
And the Lord said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke. 2 So be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me there on the top of the mountain. 3 And no man shall come up with you, and let no man be seen throughout all the mountain; let neither flocks nor herds feed before that mountain.”
4 So he cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him; and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone.
5 Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
8 So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. 9 Then he said, “If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance.”
10 And He said: “Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you. 11 Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 12 Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. 13 But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images 14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them invites you and you eat of his sacrifice,
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God is the author of salvation. He is the only One who can truly save and regenerate man. Man cannot save himself. This is why every effort man made at regeneration of his soul, no matter how sincere, is at best religious practices that do not yield the true salvation. So, God made plans for the salvation of man, which He expressed symbolically.
Firstly, He made a promise in the Garden of Eden that the seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent and the serpent, the heels. Signifying how the sin of man shall be dealt with, this was accomplished in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He also killed an animal in the Garden of Eden, shedding the blood of the animal and used the skin to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve – this symbolised the atonement of the sin, covering of the sin and dealing with the effect of the sin of man. This also was practically fulfilled in the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. All these, God did by Himself, for man. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only channel through which God saves man.
Secondly, God knew that man can run his life on earth only by law. He used the children of Israel as an example. When He brought them out of the land of Egypt, He gave them the Law on two tablets of stone. Unfortunately, Moses broke the tables of stone out of anger when Israel sinned by the golden calf. God had to instruct Moses to make tables of stone and meet Him at the mountain so that He would write the Law again on them. This is for the salvation of the Israelites. Salvation involves the deliverance and regeneration of the soul of man. There is no regeneration without the word of God. James 1:21 makes it plain: “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (NKJV).
Beloved, we have our part to play in the salvation process. We are to come to God by faith (Eph. 2:7-9) through believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and personal Saviour (John 1:12); God will accept us and take away our heart of stone and replace it with the heart of flesh (Ezek. 38:26-28; Jer. 24:7; 31:33; Heb. 8:10). Next, we should remove ourselves from all forms of iniquity and ungodliness (2 Cor. 6:14-18); and remain faithful (vv. 11-15; Titus 3:8).
Our partnership with God in our lives is very important. We should respect and protect it diligently, so that we will not become losers in the end. We should surrender our lives to Jesus completely and perfectly. All we need do is to come in faith, believing He is the one that does it; and present ourselves to Him. We present ourselves through the constant fellowship with His word and prayer.
- Have you presented yourself to the Lord in faith for salvation?
- Father, thank you for Your work of Salvation in my life in Christ Jesus.
Further Reading: Malachi 4:1-end; Mark 10:38-end; Matthew 11:2-19
ESOCS Devotional 23 June 2024
