In this world, you will have trouble. 1/1/2023
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Pyramids
Pyramids
-So I hope everyone has had a great Christmas
-I’m excited for the new year, and I’m excited for us to Jump back into the book of Exodus in our series called “Pyramids”:
-And if you remember we’re calling it pyramids because we’re trying to look at the Bible in levels like a pyramid
-Where we look at the history and background of the text
-And the next layer we’re looking at application
-and the layer above that we’re finding connections to Jesus in the Old Testament
-and finally at the top of the pyramid we’re simply trying to get to know who God is.
-if you have your bible, we’re going to be in exodus chapters 5 and 6
-if you have a smartphone I also encourage you to get the youversion Bible App.
-And if you search under events you’ll see all of the scripture we’re going to be reading today.
-I know most people are more comfortable with a paper bible
-But the reason I keep bringing it up is because I almost always have extra stuff in the bible app event that you’re not going to hear me talk about
-simply because of the lack of time
-so you feel like you’re not getting enough from my sermons go over to the app and there’s usually more stuff there too.
-so if you don’t have the Bible app, and you use a smart phone, please get it, so that you can take the scripture with you wherever you go
-If you don’t use smartphones, then feel free to follow along in your normal bible with me.
-But however you get God’s word, I encourage you to open up to Exodus chapter 5 with me.
-But we’re going to be in Exodus 5 and 6.
-Because It’s been a couple of weeks, I want to make sure everyone is up to date and all on the same page with where we are in the book so far.
-We opened up the book of exodus a full 430 years after the end of the Book of Genesis
-There’s a new pharaoh in town who is concerned that he might lose his workers to his enemies
-so he thinks to himself, perhaps infanticide is the answer.
Well God’s not going to have any of that and so God
-working through Normal people ends up thwarting the Pharoh’s plans and saving the life of thousands of children
-And then the story kind of zooms in
-and we start talking about one of those Hebrew children specifically
-And that’s moses.
-And we read in chapters 3 and 4 that God Himself chooses Moses to be the one who delivers the people from their slavery.
-God sees the suffering that they’re going through, he has compassion on them
-and he has chosen Moses to be the one to rescue them.
-And so what we’re going to be looking at today is what happens when Moses goes to talk to Pharaoh
-But before we do that I want to Pick up on a couple of the things that I didn’t have time to talk about when we read chapters 3 and 4
-See one of the problems with reading through 40 chapters in 14 weeks is that I don’t always get to say everything I want to say
-Usually what I’ll do when I have stuff that doesn’t make it in, I’ll have that kind of stuff in the YouVersion Bible Event
-So definitely if you have a smart phone make sure and get that
-You can find the Alliance Christian Church Events
-and that’s usually where I put that Extra stuff
-That Said, I do want to take just a little bit of time and talk about God’s Name in Exodus 3.
Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
-See that’s a silly question when you really think about it.
-as you’re reading through the Bible at this point I’m guessing that you’ve never once been reading through the Bible and thought
-What is god’s name?
-But remember
-Exodus happens 430 years after Genesis ends
-That means the hebrews have spent the last 430 years surrounded by egyptian culture and religion
-The Egyptians believed in over 2000 gods
-they had a god for every occasion you could think of
-There was a god of the river, there was a god of the wind, there was a god of farming, there was a god of fertility there was a god of war
-And what moses is really doing here
-by asking god’s name
-Moses is saying which one are you?
-Becuase when I go back and tell my people they’re going to want to know which of the 2000 gods is promising to deliver us
-And that makes god’s name so much more important
-He says “I AM”
-In the hebrew we say YHWH, which simply means “he is”
-And what god is really saying here with this name is that HE IS in all things, above all things, over all things because he created all things.
-He’s infinite in nature, and he’s able to do anything
-He’s not limited to one realm or another.
-and so when we talk about the suffering of the people of isreal
-you have to understand that in egyptian culture they were used to treating the “gods” like magic genies
-if your crops are bad, just go sacrifice to min, the god of the harvest
-if you felt sad you would go sacrifice to bastet, the god of pleasure
-whatever you needed you would just dial up one of the thousands of “gods” and they’d give you what you want
-But the true God, as we’re going to talk about
-He doesn’t work that way.
-He’s not a vending machine.
-And just one little side note, any time you’re reading in your bible and you see the word “LORD” in all capital letters
-that’s the name of God YHWH,
-your bible says Lord, out of reverence for God
-Out of respect for jewish tradition of not using God’s holy name
-But just know that if you’re reading 99% of english bibles
-The LORD in all capitals is a stand-in for God’s name “He Is”
Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’ ” Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”
So Pharoah is exemplifying Egyptian religion and culture
-Moses says YHWH demands that you let us hold a festival
-And pharaoh says Hmm I know know that one
-The egyptians believed in over 2000 different gods and godesses
-and so when Moses Aaron say “This is what HE IS saying”
-Pharoah says hmm I’m not familiar with this isrealite god, I’ll pass
Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword.”
-Now think about what exactly it is that they’re asking for
-They didn’t say let us go forever
-they didn’t demand anything unreasonable
-They literally asked for 3 days
-And I’d bet that this is one of the key moments moments in pharaohs life that he Regretted
-Because even if you’re an evil dictator
-from a purely practical stand point
-if all it takes to appease your subjects is a three-day weekend
-then you should probably do that
—But here’s what would have happened
-If pharaoh would have said yes,
-then the isrealites would have taken their three-day journey
-they would have gone out and sacrifieced burnt offerings
-then they would have come back on monday and went right back to worshipping the egyptian idols
-They would have viewed god as just another token idol to be put on a shelf just like the rest of them.
-So it’s actually really important that Pharaoh said no
-because in the long run they didn’t just need a three day retreat
-they needed life-altering transformation
-But Nonetheless, the way Pharaoh responds to this simple request is really telling.
But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!” Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.”
-So instead of showing mercy
-instead of doing the in my opinion the smart thing
-Pharaoh decides to respond with force
Exodus 5:6-9
Exodus 5:6-9
That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”
-And then here in verse 10 we get something really telling
Then the slave drivers and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw.
-So if you’ve been around the Bible a time or two
-you’ll know that any time a prophet of God is speaking for God
-he’ll usually say something like “This is what the Lord says”
-or in the Old king james what was it
“Thus sayth the Lord”
-Right that’s how you knew when God was speaking
-So in verse 10
-The slave drivers go out and they say
“Thust saith the Pharaoh” get back to work
-And them saying it that way is not an accident
“Thus saith the pharoah” was a direct challenge to God
-because the egyptians believed that pharaoh was a god
-And it’s here that we finally start to see why he was so adamant about not letting the hebrews go and worhship in the Desert
-I don’t think it had anything to do with the work load
-and I don’t think it had anything to do with the irealites being lazy
-I think that Pharaoh’s pride got in the way
-the idea that they would be worshiping a god other than him
-he just couldn’t handle that fact
-and so his pride lead him to oppress the people more and more
-So the slave drivers make their announcement, thus saith the pharaoh
Exodus 5:11-18
Exodus 5:11-18
Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.’ ” So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.” And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?” Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated your servants this way? Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.” Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.”
-so I want to stop for a second and fit everything we’ve read so far into the big picture
-God’s people are oppressed and God promises to rescue them
-and his people trust him at least enough to go and ask for a three day weekend to go and offer sacrifices.
-but instead of getting a three day weekend, they get even harsher labor
-even more brutal working conditions
-And what we’re getting is the picture of the idea
-that nowhere in the bible are we ever promised that following God is going to be easy
Exodus 7. First Audience with Pharaoh: Harsh Results (5:1–14)
God’s people must not assume that carrying out his commands will increase their own comfort
-In fact more often than not God promises us the exact opposite
-God Promises us pain, he promises us suffering, he promises us hardship
-He never promises us comfort
-Two weeks ago we took a look at Matthew Chapter 10, and we looked at the passage where Jesus sends His discipes out two-by-two,
-And one of the things we did is we compared Jesus comissioning his disciples in Matthew 10, with God commissioning Moses in Exodus 3.
-And if you weren’t here for that I encourage you when you get home today
-Open up and read Exodus chapter 3, and then read Matthew chapter 10
-And actually read the last paragraph of Matthew 9, and then all of Matthew 10.
-And compare them
-Because in Matthew Jesus is sending his followers out on a quest to tell everyone about the Good News of Jesus
As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’
-But then in verse 17 the other Shoe drops
-This is the Bricks without Straw moment of Matthew chapter 10
Matthew 10:17-21
Matthew 10:17-21
Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.
-So if you read that and you’re thinking to yourself
-man, that sound like a raw deal
-I don’t know why anyone would sign up for that kind of life
-You’re not alone.
-and Jesus puts the icing on the cake of this section by saying:
You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
-So you get a whole lot of bad news,
-and then you get that final verse that gives you some hope to look forward to.
-Have you ever talked to a really good salesmen
-maybe a car salesmen, or just an associate at a store somewhere
-One of those salesmen who you feel like you can really trust
-One of the things I’ve noticed is that the Best car salesmen are the ones who aren’t afraid to give you the bad news along with the good.
-Right, because a smarmy car salesmen he’s going to tell you everything that’s right about that new car
-and he’s going to do his best to cover up any of the bad stuff
-But you know, you can kind of sense it if he’s filling you full of tall tales
-you can be like yeah, this guys promising the moon, but I can just tell that he’s just saying whatever he needs to say in order to make me buy this car
-But the salesman who tells it like it is
-He’s the one that’s gonna tell you
-Yep, this is a decent car
-it’s got an oil leak, you’re going to want to know about that
-the transmission is getting a little Old, so you might end up having to replace it in the future
-But it’s been reliable so far
-And they give you all of the information and let you make and informed choice
-and usually you’ll end up buying that guys car
-because you know that you’re getting all of the facts
-you’re not going to get any unexpected surprises.
-And so if my Job was compared to that of a salesmen
-In a sense I’m a salesperson for the Gospel, that’s part of what preaching is.
-I’m here to encourage you and convince you that you should dedicate your life to christ.
-And there’s too ways to go about it
-The first is to just tell you that if you commit your life to Christ, if you’re faithful, if you pray,
-God is going to give you everything you’d ever want
-but that’s not true is it.
-The Bible tells us that following Jesus doesn’t give you everything you could ever want
-Common sense, just looking around can tell you that.
-Look the last thing I ever want to do is to falsely give the impression that being a Christian is easy
-the last thing I want to do is to tell anyone that being a Follower of Jesus is just sunshine and rainbows all the time
-If you’re looking for a comfortable religion, this isn’t it
-There are plenty of other religions out there offering prosperity
-some of them even use the name Christianity, even though they don’t actually follow what’s written in this book
-they’ll promise you that if you tithe and you donate
-that God is going to reward you financially
-they’ll promise you that if you that if you just pray hard enough and if you have enough faith
-that god will cure every ailment, and fix every probelm
-and that every thing in your life here on earth will just be comfortable
-and you have a choice.
-you can follow those religions
-the ones that tell you that if you do enough penance, if you donate enough, if you make sure to show up every Sunday
-then your life on earth is going to be great all the time
-but you know it
-you can sense it, just like you can sniff out a rotten car salesman.
-Back in Exodus, the Irealites get their first taste of what it’s like to Follow the true God
-And they’re instantly punished by heavy labor and terrible working conditions
-And they don’t take to well to it
-They would much rather have a god who is going to lie to them
-and give them the false security that comes along with comfort
-than to follow the true God
Exodus 5:19-23
Exodus 5:19-23
The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day.” When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, and they said, “May the Lord look on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.”
-Maybe you’ve had a moment where you’ve looked at the things that are happening in your life
-and you’ve thought to yourself
-What good is it following Jesus if my life is still going to be hard?
-What good is it being a follower of Jesus if my loved one is still going to get cancer
-How many times have you heard a non-believer say something like
“Why would a good God allow ____ to happen”
-And Jesus’ answer in Matthew 10 is simply
-I’m not of this world
-you’re not of this world
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
-Now that sound really really harsh until you read the very next verse
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
-See the big difference between the life of a believer and the life of a non-believer is not that the believer has less suffering
-and in fact in most cases we will have more suffering in our life
-that just comes with the territory of being a Christian
-If you feel like you’re having to make more and more bricks in your life, with less and less straw
-That’s a good indication that you’re on the right track
—But the difference is in the fact that we have a God who cares about us so much, who knows every thought, every tear, every single doubt and insecurity
-every hair on your head
-and he’s there with you every single step of the way.
-One of those disciples who was told this hard truth was peter
-who later on went to write two books of the Bible before he himself was also crucified on a cross for his belief in Jesus
-So if anyone has a leg to stand on when it comes to suffering it’s peter
-And in his first letter he writes this to the Church
1 Peter 1:6-9
1 Peter 1:6-9
In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
-God says I can’t make your life easier
-but I’ll do you one better
-I’ll bear your burden for you
-Lay it down at my feet and I will take your spiritual burden
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Pharoh was the lion
-he said to the Irealites
-Just bow down to me and I’ll make your life comfortable
-Just give me all your praise and I will lighten your work load
-and over and over again the Israelite chose comfort and security over truth.
-Who cares about being freed from bondage
-at least we have food to eat
-at least our life is comfortable.
-But know that if you choose an uncomfortable life
-if you choose to face the hardship with God on your side
-He will reward you greatly.
-and i’m telling you, all of the pain you’re experiencing, it’s worth it.
-The isrealites didn’t understand that
-Because God Told them
Exodus 6:6-9
Exodus 6:6-9
“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’ ” Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.
-to know you have a rescuer
-In Jesus
-Let’s pray.