Whether you’re brand new to SonRise or have been around SonRise for a while, let me briefly state what we seek to accomplish in this sermon moment each week.
During the preaching portion of our Sunday morning gathering we employ and enjoy a style of preaching called expositional preaching. Which means that whoever is preaching does not aim at saying anything new but seeks only to say what God has already said, such that the point of the text in view that week is the point of the sermon. In this sense whichever elder preaches the sermon we make it our aim to be the nothing more than servers, whose task is taking the Chef’s meal and bringing it to the table without adding to it, taking away from it, or changing it in any way, shape, or form.
We don’t to do this randomly but orderly, as we work through books of the Bible. So when we come to specific passages week after week we come to them in their own context, having already examined the verses that come before while also anticipating the verses that come after. Or to put it another way, we seek to sit underneath the authority and illumination of the Scripture, rather than standing over it using the Scripture to support our own message.
This is our goal, we don’t do it perfectly, but we do aim to be faithful handlers of God’s Word.
Why remind you of this today? Because today we come to a passage that might challenge our belief in expository preaching. When we read Exodus 20:22-26, many of you might wonder, ‘Is there really a need to focus on this text? I mean, is there really that much to glean from it?’
Church, let me remind you that we here at SonRise believe in the inspiration, the infallibility, and the inerrancy of the Scriptures. Every word of it comes to us from heaven, given by God to build us up in faith. We believe this, truly. Though, when we come to passages like the one we’ve arrived at today, we must admit…the applicability of every Word in Scripture is not always an easy thing to see. So today we have a task before us, and we must give attention to the preaching of the Word, for I believe in this text we will see how God often works powerful wonders through obscure texts.
Hear it for yourself. Exodus 20:22-26, “And the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the people of Israel: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven. You shall not make gods of silver to be with Me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold. An altar of earth you shall make for Me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I cause My name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you. If you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it. And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it.’”
Before I begin, allow me a moment to orient us to what’s happening here. This passage marks a shift in the book of Exodus. The laws found in Exodus 20:22 – 23:33 have historically been called The Book of the Covenant.[1] Why? Because these laws are different and distinct from the Ten Commandments, covering a variety of situations in life. It is explicitly called “The Book of the Covenant” in Exodus 24:7. More so, Exodus 24:4 tells us these laws were written down by Moses on parchment, not by God on stone tablets. Lastly, these laws are called rules in Exodus 21:1. The word translated ‘rules’ there is the Hebrew word mishpawt, which is a word often used when one is applying a divine decree to a specific circumstance.
Don’t lose me Church, I say all that to say this.
As Moses goes into the thick darkness that is the presence of God on Mt. Sinai (20:21), God gives Moses this Covenant Code. As we read the Covenant Code we see it’s a collection of laws suitable to Israel’s present situation. Really, it’s the Ten Commandments applied to specific situations Israel will encounter before they become further established as a nation.[2]
Now, don’t miss how this Covenant Code begins. See it? Here in v22-26 God gives laws about gods and altars. What’s God after in giving them temporary directions about gods and altars? Church, God’s after their worship! Worship is the first thing God addresses with them. And…He wants them to worship correctly.
Let that sink in. Many people worship God, true. But have you ever thought, not all worship is pleasing or acceptable to God? It’s a frightening thought isn’t it? God does not accept all forms of worship that are offered to Him. This begs us to ask the question of whether or not God accepts our worship. What if our worship isn’t acceptable to Him? Well, there’s an easy answer to these questions. If our worship isn’t acceptable to God, we ought to change our worship!
Don’t mishear me. Because of the work of Christ we have access to God, we can come into His presence, anytime we so desire. And more, we can come boldly into His presence! Yes and amen. But, while we can come into God’s presence boldly, we must never come smugly as if it were a small thing, or as if we deserved to be there. If Jesus were to walk into this room right now, not one of you would say ‘Hey buddy!’ and give Him a high five. No, no! We’d all fall at His feet, astonished that He would show such grace to sinners like us!
Church, this shows us the essence and importance of worship!
What does God have to tell His people about worship? He will speak to them about gods and altars in v22-26, see first…
On gods (v22-23)
“And the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the people of Israel: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven. You shall not make gods of silver to be with Me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.”
How glorious is the truth declared to us in the beginning of v22? There God says to us, “You have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven.” My oh my! Church, here is a robust reminder of divine revelation, graciously given to us from heaven. Do you need that reminder this morning? Here in our hands is God’s very Word to us. This is no earthly word to us, no man-made word to us, but the heavenly Word to us, where God Himself speaks to us from heaven by His Spirit. This is the God who has spoken to Israel in the Law, the God who met with Moses on the mountain, the God of heaven come down to speak with us.
See then what that glorious reminder in v22 leads to in v23? In v23 God reminds His people to not give any room to idols. The connection between v22 and v23 is clear. Because God is who He is, the God far above us and greater than anything we can conceive, the God who dwells in the heavens…because God is who He is, and because God is their God who has redeemed them from slavery, Israel is not to make idols. But not just any idols, here it is specifically idols made of precious materials, silver and gold.
You would be right to think this is a repeat of the first two commandments, but it’s also more than that. It’s more than that because of the mention of gold and silver. This is a polemical statement, meaning, God’s not only instructing Israel, God is also at the same time condemning the practices of the nations around Israel. You see, the nations around Israel made idols out of gold and silver to worship, that was their normal practice, but though that’s normal for the nations, that’s not to be normal for Israel, not at all. They’re not to be what the nations are like, they’re to be what God commands them to be. Yet, God knows Israel would be tempted to be like all those around them, and continues to call them to a better way.
Church, they needed the reminder. Yes, Israel would worship the Lord, but they were never very far away from idolatry. As they needed the reminder, we too need the reminder. Idolatry is never far away from us. Christians today might be tempted to mock those of old who bowed before statues to worship. But do we not also keep a few idols close by. Idols of comfort, idols of riches, idols of pleasure, idols of identity, and all sorts of other things we think we must have in order to have a full and meaningful life? Of course we do. Israel needed the reminder that God, who has spoken to them, is in the heavens high above them, and He doesn’t share His throne. We need the reminder too…because we must worship God…not God plus something else.
The timing of this reminder against idolatry is worth noticing. v22-23 come after v18-21. Notice it. Israel had just seen God descend onto Mt. Sinai and heard Him speak His Law. After that they saw the storm, the thunder, the lightning, the trumpet blaring, and the mountain itself smoking. They trembled and stood far off. They know how great God is and they we’re overwhelmed at His greatness. Right now in this moment they are truly aware of how big God is, and that an idol, fashioned with their own hands, could never capture the essence of who God is, and that it would always fall short. But how quickly they forget…only a few short chapters from now they’ll be pressing on Aaron, their priest, to make a god for them with their own gold.
Church, as Israel is called once again in this text to a singular devotion to and worship of the Lord, we are too. Having called His people to worship Him alone and cast away their idols, God keeps speaking to them about worship, but now in v24-26 He turns His attention to altars.
On Altars (v24-26)
“An altar of earth you shall make for Me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I cause My name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you. If you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it. And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it.’”
I think a normal response to these verses is…’What?’, ‘What does this mean?’, or even ‘What am I supposed to do with that?’ Well, some of these instructions may seem strange. Why would God command His people to worship Him by using an altar made of earth or rough stones, rather than crafted stone? And why are steps not allowed before the altar?
Once again, I think the general idea here is that God is calling His people to worship Him, but to ensure that they do not worship Him like the nations around them worship their gods.[3] Israel’s neighbors were known for their idol worship, yes, but they were also known for worshiping those idols on finely carved altars of stone with high steps leading up to it. They would often worship their idols naked, and include all manner of immorality in those settings. God did not want His people to give themselves over to such practices, so He commands these things to keep them from it. A time will come when the tabernacle and the temple would be built, and they will be as ornate and carefully crafted as you could imagine, and all that detailed design would serve and lead to the glory of God. But that time hasn’t come yet for Israel, so these instructions are for their present situation, after they have left Egypt but before the building of the tabernacle.[4]
But I think God is doing more than this. He is indeed keeping His people from worshiping like the nations, but in these commands there are two massive realities present that ought to mark the worship of Israel: simplicity and purity.[5]
About simplicity, Church, notice that it’s all about the altar, that it should be made of plain earth heaped up or just rough stone with no tool to smooth it out. Why does God command this? I think it’s because the altar is where sinners meet a holy God, and God doesn’t want anyone thinking worship is happening because of human ability. Meaning, the altar of our worship was never meant to show off the skill of man. It’s meant to show off the sufficiency and beauty and glory of the sacrifice. An altar of earth is itself a sermon that says, ‘Nothing you can do makes this sacrifice more acceptable. God alone provides the means, and God alone ought to receive the worship.’ This simplicity must mark Israel’s worship.
Church, our worship must be marked by simplicity as well. We’re always tempted to improve on God’s ways, aren’t we? We want to add our polish, our production, our performance, or pizazz. But a worship service that depends on our creative imagination quietly moves the center of worship from God to us. Simple worship keeps the center where it belongs, on God, on His Word, on our praising Him, praying to Him, hearing from Him, and responding to Him.
Simple is the kind of worship the Reformation returned to after the worship of the Church had been so manipulated for so long. Pomp and circumstance, tradition and ritual, and rites and ceremonies that weren’t found in Scripture ruled the day. When the Reformation broke out what they return do? A simpler worship, focusing only on the Word, the sacraments, and prayer. Ordinary means, yes. But ordinary means that reveal extraordinary grace.
About purity, Church, notice v26 and the remark about steps. God says no steps, why? “That your nakedness be not exposed on it.” I want you to hear the thing really in view here. Nakedness after Genesis 3 in the Bible is usually filled with shame. We first meet it in Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve sinned, they saw they were naked, and hid. Their covering was laughable, and God kindly clothed them. Later, in Exodus 28, God commands linen undergarments for the priests “to cover their nakedness” when they approach the altar.
The point is really the same, sinful people cannot approach a holy God exposed, we cannot cover ourselves. But grace upon grace, just as God came to cover Adam and Eve in the Garden He has come in Christ to cover our many sins. Therefore, worship must never become a place where we try to uncover what God has covered. That’s what these steps are really about. Worship isn’t a place for the flesh to be revealed or exalted. And worship is not a place for anything that draws attention to the creature rather than the Creator.
This kind of simplicity and purity must still mark our worship today.
Look again at v24. Right in the middle of these instructions God makes a promise, “In every place where I cause My name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you.”
God says, “I will come to you.” Not ‘You will come up to me.’ Not ‘climb these stairs until you’re worthy.’ God says, I will come.
Why does He say this? Because worship is not a ladder we climb to reach up to God. The whole point of worship is that the God who is so high above us, who dwells in the heavens, who has spoken to us from heaven, has come down to us. In Scripture God is always descending to us. He came down in the garden. He came down on Sinai. He came down to dwell in the tabernacle, and then the temple. And Church, all those moments led to the greatest moment when He came down in His own Son, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Why does God come down like this? Many answers could be given here, but a primary answer would be this: God comes down to us, to lift us up to Him.
How does He lift us up? By going lower than we ever could.
Church, the Son of God didn’t just come down to earth. He kept going down, all the way to a cross, where He was stripped and exposed and executed like a criminal. That was our sin and shame He was carrying. There He offered the one sacrifice that could actually take away sin. No human hand shaped it, and no human effort could improve it. God was at work, and through it God now gives all who come what we have always needed: His perfect righteousness, to cover us.
The cross makes worshipers out of sinners. Worshipers who love the Lord simply and purely, because they have nothing to add and nothing to hide.
And the wonder of the cross is v24. “In every place where I cause My name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you.” He said it to Israel at an altar of earth. He says it to us through His Son. Wherever His name is remembered, whether in this room, in your home, or in your car on a Monday morning, He is there. Not to scold, but to bless.
[1] John D. Currid, Exodus vol. 2 - EP Study Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: EP Books, 2014) 56-62.
[2] John I. Durham, Exodus - WBC (Waco TX: Word Books, 1987) 318.
[3] Philip Graham Ryken, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory – Preaching the Word Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015) 651.
[4] John Gill, Exposition of the Bible, quoted in ESV Church History Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2023) 113.
[5] Ryken, 651.
