November 12, 2025 Morning Devotional
Morning Devotion: Read Exodus - Joy Comes in the Mourning
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 stiffnecked 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 stiffnecked 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.
The term stiffnecked is a term that means a neck hard like a tree branch. It means to be hardhearted, obstinate, churlish, grievous, impudent and cruel.
The great thing in this passage of scripture is the fact that God can see and knows the heart of each person. He knew they were stiffnecked.
The other great thing about this passage is the fact that Israel mourned over her sentence from God.
Mourning is good. Matthew 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
To mourn means to express grief or sorrow; to grieve; to be sorrowful. Mourning may be expressed by weeping or audible sounds, or by sobs, sighs or inward silent grief.
Israel mourned for their sin and the sentence of it. Being stiffnecked they engaged themselves in idolatry and worship against the true and living God. Now they were mourning over God’s assessment and sentence.
In the book of Joel God addresses the same issue.
Joel 2:12 Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
The same problem was addressed in the book of James when people worshiped the idols of the heart.
James 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Do you mourn over sin or are you stiffenecked, hardhearted, obstinate, churlish, grievous, impudent and maybe even cruel when the fact of sin is revealed in your life?
Would you mourn and repent and turn to the Lord and let the Lord lift you up? Would you draw nigh to God and resist the devil?
If you are not a born again believer, would you mourn over sin and the penalty thereof and trust Jesus to save you?
The choice is still yours,
Pastor Cook
