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I greet you in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Our text for tonight's message is taken from Exodus chapter 6, verse 13 to 27. In verse 13, the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel and unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. After that, the Bible gave us a list of genealogy. Most people would not pay much attention to genealogy and tend to skip over it, especially when it is full of unfamiliar names. But if we believe that all scripture is given by the inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished unto all good works (Second Timothy 3:16-17), all scripture means all scripture, then that must also include genealogy.

There are few important lessons we can learn about genealogy. Firstly, it tells us that God remembers every one of those people, not just their names but including their deeds, just like He will remember every one of us. He knows us by our names, including the things we have done and not done. Secondly, oftentimes God's purpose of recording genealogy is for us to see and understand how those men and women had a part to play in His salvation plan. And thirdly, it is to teach us that the Bible is true even from a historical point of view. For example, the ages given to Levi and his sons help to confirm that the Israelites were indeed in Egypt for more than 400 years. Let God's word be true, and let every man believe it. God's word is always true.

Most commentators feel that this genealogy being listed here is a bit strange, or some even call it awkward because most of the time genealogy will begin at the beginning of the book, not halfway through a narrative. So they consider this genealogy as an interruption. There was this narrative, and then all of a sudden, there was this genealogy, and then followed by the narrative again. So they called it an interruption. However, we believe that God has a purpose in all things, including the way He recorded His precious word. So this genealogy was carefully placed here for a significant purpose.

You see, if you notice the genealogy here in chapter 6 of the book of Exodus, it was focused on one family in particular - the family of Moses and Aaron. It begins with only three founding fathers of the Israelites: Reuben, Simeon, and Levi. Why? Because Reuben being the eldest, followed by Simeon and then Levi. But the focus was on Levi, Jacob's third elder son. Levi had three sons - Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The Bible lists each of these men together with the names of their sons from verses 16 to 19. But special attention was given to the line of Kohath. Not only his sons were mentioned, even their sons were mentioned too. In other words, out of all the sons, grandsons, great-grandsons of Levi, this genealogy was only interested in the line of Kohath. The reason was quite obvious because the focus was on Aaron.

Notice the first part traces Aaron's roots to Amram, then to Kohath, and finally to Levi. The second part speaks about Aaron's sons - Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar - ending with the birth of his grandson Phinehas in verse 25. And very little was spoken about Moses and even the two women whose names were mentioned - Jochebed and Elisheba. They were also closely related to Aaron. So it was all about Aaron.

But why Aaron? The reason was that Moses was already introduced in the preceding chapters. So we already knew about Moses - how he was born, in what kind of circumstances he was born, who were his parents. But we know very little about Aaron, and we need to know about Aaron because soon he would play a very important and prominent role, especially in the next chapter where God would use him to defeat the gods of Egypt.

So in verse 13, after God gave the charge unto Moses and Aaron to go unto the children of Israel and unto Pharaoh of Egypt to bring the children of Israel out from the land of Egypt, He gave the genealogy of Aaron. And after we are familiar with who this Aaron was, God went on to say in verses 26 and 27. Look down to verses 26 and 27. These are that Aaron and Moses - which means these are the same Aaron and Moses whom I have just introduced to you - to whom the Lord said, "Bring the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies." The word "armies" speaks of a group of people ready to fight, referring to the twelve tribes of Israel whom God would use to defeat the inhabitants of the land of Canaan. "These are they which spake to Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt. These are that Moses and Aaron." Again, God said, "These are the same Moses and Aaron."

Notice one particular phrase stands out throughout this passage, and that is the phrase "according to their families," and then it ends with verse 25, "These are the heads of the fathers of the Levites according to their families." In other words, special attention was given to the fathers. God holds the fathers responsible for the spiritual well-being of their families. As the heads of their respective families, God had given them the responsibility to lead by loving and encouraging their wives unto godliness, to teach their children that they may worship and glorify the Lord. So this responsibility rests upon the fathers. It is an awesome responsibility as the head of the household. Several years later, Joshua would say to the Israelites - and I think we are all very familiar with that verse - Joshua 24:15, "Choose you this day whom ye will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood or the gods of the Amorites in whose land ye dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." So Joshua understood what it means to be the head of a family.

Every godly father must make a personal commitment to help his own family to serve, worship, and glorify the Lord, just like Joshua, who says, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Out of all the tribes of Israel, the Levites were set apart for God's holy service, primarily for the worship of God. Therefore, the sons of Levi - Gershon, Kohath, and Merari - were given specific duties in the Tabernacle. Those duties later on were passed down to their descendants. For example, the sons of Gershon were responsible for the care of the Tabernacle, like the coverings, the curtains at the entrance of the courtyard surrounding the Tabernacle, and the altar and all the ropes. The sons of Kohath were responsible for the care of the Ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, and the articles of the sanctuary. The sons of Merari were responsible for taking care of the frames of the Tabernacle, the crossbars, the poles, bases, and all the equipment. You can read about that in Numbers chapter 3.

Dear friends, it is an honour and privilege to serve in the different ministries that are essential in the worship of God. Just like today, we have preachers, Sunday school teachers, Bible facilitators, musicians, ushers, the PA team, and so forth. Although we serve in different ministries, we are all focused on the worship of God. Our highest calling as Christians is to worship God. And can you imagine to be called to perform any one of those duties that enables the church to fulfill this high calling of worshiping God? Isn't that amazing? Do you have a part to play in the worship of God? It gives great glory to God.

Many years later, when the Tabernacles were folded because the temple was built, so the people started to worship at the temple, the sons of Gershon, Kohath, and Merari were still serving the Lord. They never stopped serving God. As the late Reverend Timadito used to say, "There is no resignation in the service of God." So to all those who are in their evening years, please do not shy away from the worship and services of God. You may not be able to serve in the same capacity and strength, but as long as you are still alive, there is work for you to do in regards to the worship and services of God.

Now, if all of us here consider the worship of God as our highest calling, the services of God is the greatest privilege. Why would we want to stop serving God, right? Whatever be the circumstances, no matter how adverse the circumstances may be, we want to serve and continue to serve because it gives great glory to God. So, as Levites, Aaron and his sons were serving the Lord and actively involved in the worship of God. As a father, as the head of his family, Aaron was responsible to lead his children in a godly fashion so that they might worship, serve, and glorify God.

There's no reason for us to doubt if Aaron had not fulfilled his responsibility. Surely he did. But that does not mean that every one of his children was faithful. Some were, some were not. That is why I titled today's message as "Faithful or Unfaithful." What does that teach us? Faithfulness and obedience are a personal responsibility and choice, and every individual is responsible for his or her own actions. Sometimes a child may be brought up in the church in a good Christian environment. He may grow up in Sunday school, attend all the worship services, fellowship meetings, spiritual activities, and so forth, and yet be rebellious. Godly parents and a conducive spiritual environment are extremely important, but they are not a guarantee that the child will not be rebellious. It tells us that we are not in control. God alone is in control. That is why we must always pray that God will be gracious to protect, preserve, and keep our children in the right path.

For those parents whose children may have rebelled against your authority or even against the Word of God, do not give up. Pray to the Lord and ask the Lord to help, that God will turn the hearts of those rebellious children that they may once again serve, worship, and glorify Him. We are not in control. Only God alone is in control.

Let us briefly look at two examples, one good, one bad. Firstly, the example of Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron. Phinehas served the Lord during one of Israel's darkest hours. The story of Phinehas and his righteous zeal was recorded in Numbers 25. But allow me to briefly summarize what happened in Numbers 25.

There was a time when the Moabite women were enticing the Israelite men to commit sexual immorality and spiritual adultery. In those days, the Israelites not only engaged in extramarital relationships but also worshiped the Moabite gods. The punishment for idolatry was death, but the leaders in Israel were very weak, and they could not bring themselves to execute capital judgment. So while they were still deciding what they should do, the situation got worse. A wicked man named Zimri brazenly brought his Moabite mistress into the Tabernacle to commit sexual sins with her. Can you imagine, in the house of God? God had already sent a plague, and people were dying, but nobody said anything. And it was at this moment that Phinehas stood up.

In Numbers 25:7, it says, "And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand, and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly." Nobody wanted to do anything, even though God had already given the command that idolatry's punishment was death. All the leaders kept quiet. Only Phinehas stood up. And because of his action, the Bible tells us the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.

We pray that there will never come a time whereby anyone will ever commit the act of sexual immorality or adultery in our physical church. God forbids that would be horrendous. But what about spiritual adultery? There may come a time whereby people may commit spiritual adultery by bringing the world into the church, by introducing the world into the church - all those sinful practices and ideologies, strange doctrines like the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel, secular psychology, and they may want us to hold hands with churches that have already compromised the truth in the ecumenical movement. That is what we mean by spiritual adultery. Then nobody says anything in the church. What will you do? If you say something, you may lose your friends, you may lose your popularity, you may even lose your position in the church. Will you still be the lone voice like Phinehas to stand for the truth no matter what happens? It takes a man or a woman who loves God's truth dearly, a man or a woman with a righteous zeal for God, to do that.

Phinehas went on to become a great leader in Israel. He served as a military commander when the Israelites fought against the Midianites. He remained faithful throughout all their wanderings in the wilderness. Later on, when a civil war threatened to break out between the tribes of Israel, he was the one who helped to make peace. Subsequently, his descendants became the high priest of Israel. So Phinehas was a great man, and what made him great was his zeal for God and His word. Even when others were turning away, he stood firmly, steadfastly. His life should challenge every one of us to have courage when God and His word come under attack, whether from inside or outside the church. We pray that we will be like Phinehas.

As a church, as parents, we always seek to provide the resources, the teachings, the environment for our people, our children, to grow from faith to faith and from strength to strength. And we pray that our people and our children will grow up to be like Phinehas. As we mentioned a moment ago, not all the descendants of Aaron were faithful. Some were faithful, others were not. Therefore, we want to move on to focus on the two black sheep in Aaron's family - his elder sons, Nadab and Abihu. Let us consider the example of Nadab and Abihu.

Like their father Aaron, they also served in the Tabernacle. Recently, someone said to me that the worship of God is so routine and expected. In other words, what the person means is that there are no surprises. People want surprises; they want to try new things. Others want to use their creativity to draw people, attract people into the church. In one word, they want to be entertained. But we must never do that to the worship of God. In the Old Testament likewise, the worship of God was expected week after week, month after month, year after year. The priests would be doing the same thing. God has given to us biblical principles in His word for worship. Worship is about God, not about ourselves, not about how we feel. So God alone has the right to decide how He wants to be worshiped. You and I have no right, nor the freedom to create our own forms of worship. We must worship God according to what He has commanded us to do. So, one day, Nadab and Abihu decided to try something new in the worship of God. That was exactly what they did. Maybe you can turn with me to Leviticus chapter 10, verse 1. Let me read for you.

This was what they did: "And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer and put fire therein and put incense thereon and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He commanded them not." The word "strange" means to turn aside or foreign or unauthorized. It is something that God had commanded them not to do. Verse 2: "And there went out fire from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord." They were killed, and their bodies had to be dragged out of the Tabernacle and carried outside the camp. It was very tragic.

What can we learn from the death of Nadab and Abihu? Do not play the fool with the worship of God. Worship of God is about Him and His glory, not about us and how we feel. Worship of God is a serious business. Our God is holy, and therefore, He demands Himself to be worshiped in a holy way. So, all of us must approach the worship of God in a reverential way, not any way we want, any way we like - whether in singing, prayers, preaching, giving of tithes and offerings, or services. Every aspect of the worship service must be conducted in a way God has commanded us, prescribed for us in the Bible.

We draw principles for our worship service from the sacred office. We all know that they served in the Tabernacle together with all the other Levites. It was a privilege; it was a higher calling. However, despite their holy calling, they were unfaithful. They did not obey God and His word, and therefore, their lives came to a tragic end. Are there such people today? Most certainly. The sad truth is that some men that are ordained in the ministry and many who are called or professed to be called to serve the Lord in the ministry - whatever be those ministries - are just like Nadab and Abihu. Remember the words of our Lord Jesus who warned us in Matthew 7:22-23. Many will say to Me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, preached in your name, and in thy name have cast out devils? We have done many wonderful works." And in thy name done all these wonderful works? And then what would Jesus say? The Bible says Jesus will profess unto them, "I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

To be told by the Almighty God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that "I never knew you" - that would mean the person is an unbeliever. That person will be lost for all eternity. So, people could be serving apparently or looks very fervent and zealous, but yet Jesus may say, "I never knew you" because they were serving themselves, but for the glory of God. They were serving God according to their own whims and fancies, according to their own ideas, never believing Him, nor obeying His word, never following the biblical principles prescribed in the scriptures. These people never knew God.

What we need, dear friends, is not eloquence; it is not some new ideas or some creative worship. Think about this: do you think God needs our creativity to help draw the people into the church so that they may worship Him? Most certainly not. What God needs from us is our faithfulness and obedience - to do what He has commanded us. Remember, Nadab and Abihu were the sons of Aaron; they were from the tribe of Levi. Although they were from the holiest tribe, so to speak, a tribe that was set apart especially for the worship of God, yet they perished in the flames of fire.

So, another important lesson for all of us to learn is that we cannot rely on our family connection for salvation - not your parents, nor your grandparents. As one theologian said, "We cannot travel to heaven on our parents' passports." Can you travel overseas with your parents' passports, with your grandparents' passports? No, none of us can enter into heaven based on the merits of another person. The only way for us to go to heaven and escape the fires of hell is to repent of our sins and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. There's no other way.

Finally, it is interesting that verse 23 recorded for us that Aaron took him a daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon, to wife. Why did the writer include these two names, Amminadab and Nahshon? Those names were very significant because they were the ancestors of David, and most importantly, they were included in the genealogy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Before we conclude, if you can turn with me to Matthew 1, verse 4. Let me read the first half of that verse. "And Aram begat Amminadab, and Amminadab begat Nahshon." And look down to verse 16. "And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, which is called Christ." In other words, even in the days of Moses and Aaron, God was already giving out hints that ultimately His Son will come into this world to deliver His people from their sins.

Dear friends, isn't it amazing that there are so many wonderful lessons we can learn from genealogy? So instead of skipping over the genealogy, we can draw spiritual lessons, valuable lessons to be applied into our lives. And then when we put all these truths together, all the historical facts together, we can say only one thing: the Bible is true, even from a historical standpoint. God reminds us that His word is always true. So let us hold on to this wonderful truth that the book we hold in our hands is none other than the very words of the Almighty God. Let us look to the Lord in prayer.

Our Father in Heaven, we thank you for enabling us to consider this portion of Scriptures. Indeed, we have only considered a few characters in the Bible, yet there are so many other characters that we have yet to consider. Thou hast reminded us yet again that there are so many wonderful spiritual lessons that we can learn even from genealogy. Help us to remember this: all Scripture means all Scripture is inspired by thee, and if they are profitable for us, then that must include genealogy too. We give thee thanks for this opportunity thou hast given to us to consider this passage. Help us never to escape through thy precious Word. Thou hast a purpose in all things, including the way thou hast recorded thy precious Word. We give you thanks, and we pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.