Announcements :  Sperry movie begins the 25 th . September 6, 2009 Battlefield 10 in Fort Oglethorpe
God told Moses that the people were worshipping idols down below.  God offered to kill them all and start over with Moses.
Moses called for all  who would  serve the Lord to come to his side; Only the  Levites  came.
Exodus 33  1  And the Lord said unto Moses, Depart,  and  go up hence, thou and  the  people which  thou  hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it:  2  And I will  send an angel  before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:  3  Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the  midst of thee ; for thou  art  a stiff-necked people: lest I consume thee in the way.
God had  relented  from His Purpose to  kill all  of the Israelites and  start over  with Moses, But He is  still angry  with them. God is still calling them  Moses' people . I will not go up in the  midst of thee ; for thou  art  a stiff-necked people: lest I  consume thee  in the way.
4  And when the people heard these  evil tidings , they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments.  5  For the Lord had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye  are  a stiff-necked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.  6  And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.
4  And when the people heard these  evil tidings , they mourned: They were so stubbornly self-willed that God was afraid He would destroy them.  HE no longer intended to travel in their midst.
When people think of the  penalties for backsliding , they tend to think of things like: Sickness ,  financial troubles ,  relationship troubles , And these  may all result  from backsliding. But the most  terrible penalty  for backsliding, is the  distance  it puts between you and God; The loss of fellowship.
James 4   8a  Draw nigh to God, and HE will draw nigh to you.  James 4   8b  Cleanse  your  hands,  ye  sinners; and purify  your  hearts,  ye  double minded.  Whole
"Cleanse your hands, ye sinners." Repent of all willful sin. Confess it to God. Turn from it. Lying,  stealing,  killing,  fornicating, sowing discord,  all sins of commission.
"Purify your hearts, ye double-minded." Single-mindedly love God. Worship Him and Him alone. Serve Him with no reservations.
In Christ alone my hope is found; He is my light, my strength, my song,  This Cornerstone, this solid ground.  Firm through the fiercest drought and storm, What heights of love, what depths of peace, when fears are stilled, when strivings cease; My Comforter, my All in All  Here in the love of Christ I stand
6  And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb. When we are  truly sorrowful  for our sin,  it will show .
Without true sorrow there can be  no repentance . Psalms 51  17  The sacrifices of God  are  a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.
7  And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass,  that  every one which sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which  was  without the camp.  8  And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle,  that  all the people rose up, and stood every man  at  his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle.
Apparently this was not  " The Tabernacle "  which we have been studying. Tabernacle means  tent , and this was a tent where Moses met with God for the people. (NIV)  Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the "tent of meeting." Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. Only Moses could speak with God. He would go into the tent for them.
9  And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood  at  the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses.  10  And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand  at  the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man  in  his tent door.  They  rededicated  themselves to worship of  The True God .
To a right relationship with Almighty God. Committing ourselves to  whole - heartedly  walk with Him: His Path;  His Way.