 Pastor Dale is out today and asked if I would fill in for the worship through giving. So this morning in the worship, the worship through giving, if you would please turn to Exodus 34 and we're gonna look at verses 26. I'm sorry 23 through 26 and let me read that. Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the Lord God of Israel. For I will cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders. Neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year. You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven nor shall the sacrifice of the feast of the Passover be left until morning. The first of the first fruits of your land you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk. In context Israel had recently made for themselves a molded calf like Pastor Michael was just preaching on and they had worshiped and sacrificed to it in Exodus 32. In Exodus 33 Moses intercedes and God restates his promise to dwell with and bring up Israel into the promised land. In Exodus 34 which is the chapter here, two new tablets of the Ten Commandments are made and then the covenant terms or stipulations are renewed by the Lord. So when he says this here it's a renewal. He's already said this exact same thing in Exodus 2319. And what are the covenant terms in verses 23 and 26? That's what I just read. Simply it is the command of the Lord that all the men of Israel appear before the Lord in worship three times a year and that they worship him in his way. These are the two main points of these verses appear before the Lord and do so God's way. So in verse 23 what and when? What is it three times in a year all your men shall appear? The three times are references to the three feasts of the Feast of the Passover in March and in April. The Feast of Pentecost and or the Feast of Weeks in May slash June and the Feast of Tabernacles in September and October. They each coincided with harvest times and required first fruit offerings expressing thanksgiving and were theological in purpose. The Passover Feast was because of their redemption from Israel with a Passover lamb. The Pentecost Feast because of the blessings arising out of that redemption such as God dwelling with Israel and abundance of provision that he provides. The Feast of Tabernacles was following the day of atonement was again because of the blessings arising out of reconciliation with God in the covenant. And also a reminder and reflection upon how God provided for them when they tabernacled in the wilderness. They're in the wilderness but he has foresight in mind because he says here in verse 23 or verse 24 I will cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders. He has a future reference which talking about the land he's going to bring them in. So that that Feast of Tabernacles is considering the day of atonement and then it's also going to in the future be a reflection back upon their tabernacling in the wilderness. And then in verse 23 that word men all your men this does not prohibit women or children from worship but assigns the representation of families to fathers husbands in appearing before the tabernacle altar and then later will be the temple to present to God the sacrifice on behalf of their families. And verse 24 why why should they do this and what would be encouragement to do it? Well why is because God will cast out the nations before them and enlarge their borders. He will provide for them. They have motivation to worship him out of Thanksgiving. And also he says neither will any man covet your land. So it's a it's a major ordeal to go in the future to worship the Lord and travel and you leave behind your land. Well Lord saying I'm sovereign and no one will covet your land while you're gone. So he encourages them and then in verses 25 and 26 he gives specifics and how particularly this is God's way. And what way shall Israel worship at these Feasts? And it says you shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with 11. That's a reference to the Passover Feast in particular and the Passover they will not have leaven in the bread. So he's having them remember that leavenless time when he saved them and having them not bring leaven in their worship. And they will not leave their sacrifice of food until the next morning. It's to be eaten that day. Also the first fruits and 26 the first of the first fruits of your land they shall be brought into the house of the Lord and not kept or used otherwise. The first of the first first fruits are the Lord's. It's a symbol and a representation of our supreme allegiance and recognition that God alone is the provider of these things. And boil a young goat. So this is difficult. This repeats in nexus 2319 and Deuteronomy 1421. It is difficult to interpret this phrase because being so distant from the historical context. However, in all three of those verses, it finds itself in the context of worship. And I'm not sure that that makes my interpretation dogmatic, but it does help. The Jews interpreted it to mean a separation of meat and milk as a dietary law. So there's a lot of tradition on that. Others today believe it's an expression of moral stewardship of creation. Basically do not take things that are intended to give life like the mother's milk is intended to give life and then use that very thing to bring death and boil. Another interpretation is that it was a prohibition against false worship associated with pagan fertility techniques. So this interpretation states that it was a custom of the heathens and possibly the Egyptians at the end gathering of their fruits to take a kid, a young goat and see that boil it in a magical way and go about sprinkling this this boil goat and the milk on their trees and fields and gardens and orchards thinking that by this means they should make them fruitful and bring forth fruit again more abundantly the next year. I think I'm left on the fence, but I hate when the commentators do that and they don't give a choice. So I think if if I had to assume at this point what I know it's that last one unless I'm able to prove otherwise from a historical study because of the fact that that's a false way to worship God and the context is dealing so much with worship. So what are the differences? We're not Israel. We're not in the mosaic covenant. Christ is our Passover. Pentecost is the Holy Spirit. Our Pentecost is the Holy Spirit. Our Tabernacles Tabernacles is union with Christ by the Spirit. These truths in which we live and of which we are partakers are what those feasts for Israel pointed to. We are the fulfillment in Christ of all that was promised of the new covenant in types and in shadows and in principle, God alone must be worshiped for our redemption for his endowment with us and for our new life in union with Christ and for all temporal and eternal blessings that we enjoy as children of God by the blood of Christ, our Passover and atonement. The what of our worship is determined by God and is to be directed by God alone. The way we worship is according to God's word alone. So when we come this morning to give, you remember that when you give your tithes and offerings here among us, it is worship. It is worship and it is to be done in Thanksgiving. It is not the companies for whom we work that provide our sustenance. It's not our savings plan or the wisdom of financial advisors from whom we obtain wise counsel that provide our sustenance. This is just the temporal side I'm focusing on at the moment. It is not our predecessors, whether those near to us such as our parents or those far from us as our nation's founding fathers that provide our sustenance. People want to say, and it's a glorious thing. I praise God for the blessings that we have in this nation. But the, the, the, the constitution, the founding fathers, this nation, it's not what provides our sustenance. Let it be known to the entire world that it is the Lord God whom every good and perfect gift comes. The Lord God gives us breath, physical life, food, shelter, clothing, work, and far beyond the bounty of those things, more than can be measured. The Lord God gives us eternal life and union with his crucified and risen son. May the Lord receive our ties and offerings, according to his will, as we offer them in faith, thanksgiving and love, he be glorified as our provider in all things and may our unrivaled, childlike abject submission to him be known to all in our worship through giving. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we praise you and give you all the glory. Lord, shame on us for giving glory to anything else. And we praise you for our shelter, our food, more than that. We praise you for our salvation and the promises that we are experiencing and know will be fulfilled. Please take our gifts, our ties and offerings as we offer them in faith and let it be known to the world through it, Lord, that you are God. Amen.