Exodus - Part 4
Notes
Transcript
Welcome...
Introduce self...
Pray...
Heavenly Father, please give me clarity in the words I speak.
Please fill us with the truth of your word and grant us
repentance where there is sin,
understanding where there is confusion, and
wisdom where there is foolishness.
Open our ears and our hearts,
Turn our affections towards you,
And make yourself our greatest joy and treasure.
In Jesus name, Amen.
Subtitle:
A road map to rest for your soul
In the chaos, difficulty, and pain of this world,
God wants you to find rest.
Recap:
Chapter 1
The Hebrews found themselves in Egypt after Joseph
As the Hebrews grew in numbers and strength, Pharaoh enslaved the Hebrews
Chapter 2
Moses is born, a Hebrew
Pharaoh had commanded that all the baby boys born be thrown into the Nile River
Moses’ mother hides him in a basket and he is found and raised by an Egyptian mother in Pharaoh’s court
Moses flees to Midian after killing and Egyptian and getting caught
Moses was 40 when he fled to Midian and was in Midian for 40 years
Chapter 3
Moses comes across a burning bush
Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”
When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
God reveals himself as “I AM”
God explains to Moses that he has seen and heard the Hebrews and that he will deliver them from the oppression of Pharaoh.
God explains that this will not come easy...
But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand.
You all know how this story goes...
The mighty hand of God strikes down the first born son of every Egyptian, including Pharaoh himself...
Through the mighty hand of God and the death of Pharaoh’s first born son, Israel is redeemed...
Our redemption has also come through the mighty hand of God, but not by way of the death of Pharaoh’s first born son...
Our redemption has come through the death of God’s own first born son...
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Of course, Moses doesn’t know or understand any of this yet...
We pick up the story in Chapter 4.
Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’ ” The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it.
But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— “that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
God offers validation of his call on Moses’ life through this sign.
Every time he performed this sign, it was an act of faith, God had to show up...
I think there is a rough analogy here...
God is working in your life all the time whether you realize it or not… we talked about that last week.
But sometimes, we just want to see a sign. Sometimes we want to see God show up in a supernatural way.
The most surefire way I know to accomplish this is to step out in faith as a witness and ambassador for Jesus.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
So much of the modern church has almost become obsessed with seeing acts of power by God and specifically the Holy Spirit.
Much of the time, we look in the wrong place.
Step out in faith as Jesus’ witness and take upon yourself the call of ambassador and the ministry of reconciliation!
Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh.
“If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”
God gave Moses 2 more signs to validate his authority as prophet and leader to Israel.
Moses still doubts, Moses still responds with a lack of faith...
But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”
After all that God has done for Moses, after giving Moses 3 supernatural signs, after specifically promising earlier in the conversation:
Quote:
“I will be with you”
I believe we can learn from this in our own calling as servants of the most high God.
Remember, Peter says we are a “chosen race” and a “royal priesthood” and “a people for God’s own possession” we belong to God.
Jesus said to us, his church:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Jesus even promises to be with us...
So what can we learn here???
You might be expecting the lesson to go something like this:
[[SLIDE]]
“Don’t be a failure like Moses, walk by faith.”
Let me propose this lesson instead:
[[SLIDE]]
“I am a failure just like Moses, but God is gracious and will use me for his purposes just like he used Moses.”
The first lesson is an example of “moralism” aka “what do I need to do to be a good person”
The second lesson is an example of the “gospel” aka “what has God done to make me a good person”
The first puts so much pressure on us to perform.
The second frees us from that pressure.
We don’t want to get into the habit of coming to church so that we can feel good about what we have done.
We want to come to church so we can feel good about what God has done.
But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”
Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”
God responds by saying, “I’m God!” I made your mouth, I gave you the ability to speak, now I will be with you.
But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.
Wait? Is God angry when I disobey instead of acting by faith?
Didn’t you just tell me that I don’t have to win God’s approval?
This is the great mystery of the gospel that is reconciled through Jesus.
When we sin, God is angry… And a low view of God’s holiness will make our view of God’s anger lower than it ought to be...
The question then becomes, where does God direct his anger?
He directs it to Jesus.
“It was the will of the Lord to crush him...”
This is how God is both “just” AND the “justifier”
You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”
Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand.
And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”
We are going to circle back around to this text specifically “But I will harden his heart.”
At a lodging place on the way the Lord met him and sought to put him to death. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” So he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.
The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him to speak, and all the signs that he had commanded him to do.
Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.
Worship is the right and natural response to God’s character and work...