Following the Lord

Following the Lord: Exodus 5:1-7:7 January 15, 2023 We're going to be in chapter 5 of Exodus this morning, and cover the passage through chapter 7, verse 7. I took my first management position when I was about 22 years old. I went from a support position in Human Resources to managing a restaurant, room service and bar at a hotel in Southern California. I had no experience in that field, but several members of senior leadership wanted me to take that position. I was told to focus on leading and supporting the staff, and I was told to lean on my chef for the technical aspects of the job, that he would teach me as I went. It was a difficult position to be in, and I made many mistakes along the way. I couldn't help but think about this when reading this passage this week. As soon as we begin this section, we see that Moses and Aaron are getting right to work. They know what they are supposed to do, and they know that God is by their side, but they are seemingly learning as they go, just like I did in that position. So, in order to set this passage up, it would be helpful to see where they began. So, let's go back to Exodus 3:18, where the Lord tells Moses: AND THEY WILL LISTEN TO YOUR VOICE, AND YOU AND THE ELDERS OF ISRAEL SHALL GO TO THE KING OF EGYPT AND SAY TO HIM, 'THE LORD, THE GOD OF THE HEBREWS, HAS MET WITH US; AND NOW, PLEASE LET US GO A THREE DAYS' JOURNEY INTO THE WILDERNESS, THAT WE MAY SACRIFICE TO THE LORD OUR GOD. So, as we open this passage this morning, Moses and Aaron seem to follow this specific command from the Lord. Let's see how this section begins, beginning at verse 1 of chapter 5: 1 AFTERWARD MOSES AND AARON WENT AND SAID TO PHARAOH, "THUS SAYS THE LORD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, 'LET MY PEOPLE GO, THAT THEY MAY HOLD A FEAST TO ME IN THE WILDERNESS.'" 2 BUT PHARAOH SAID, "WHO IS THE LORD, THAT I SHOULD OBEY HIS VOICE AND LET ISRAEL GO? I DO NOT KNOW THE LORD, AND MOREOVER, I WILL NOT LET ISRAEL GO." 3 THEN THEY SAID, "THE GOD OF THE HEBREWS HAS MET WITH US. PLEASE LET US GO A THREE DAYS' JOURNEY INTO THE WILDERNESS THAT WE MAY SACRIFICE TO THE LORD OUR GOD, LEST HE FALL UPON US WITH PESTILENCE OR WITH THE SWORD." 4 BUT THE KING OF EGYPT SAID TO THEM, "MOSES AND AARON, WHY DO YOU TAKE THE PEOPLE AWAY FROM THEIR WORK? GET BACK TO YOUR BURDENS." 5 AND PHARAOH SAID, "BEHOLD, THE PEOPLE OF THE LAND ARE NOW MANY, AND YOU MAKE THEM REST FROM THEIR BURDENS!" 6 THE SAME DAY PHARAOH COMMANDED THE TASKMASTERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THEIR FOREMEN, 7 "YOU SHALL NO LONGER GIVE THE PEOPLE STRAW TO MAKE BRICKS, AS IN THE PAST; LET THEM GO AND GATHER STRAW FOR THEMSELVES. 8 BUT THE NUMBER OF BRICKS THAT THEY MADE IN THE PAST YOU SHALL IMPOSE ON THEM, YOU SHALL BY NO MEANS REDUCE IT, FOR THEY ARE IDLE. THEREFORE THEY CRY, 'LET US GO AND OFFER SACRIFICE TO OUR GOD.' 9 LET HEAVIER WORK BE LAID ON THE MEN THAT THEY MAY LABOR AT IT AND PAY NO REGARD TO LYING WORDS." (Exodus 5:1-9) The "AFTERWARD" in verse 1 seems to follow the meeting that Aaron and Moses had with the elders in 4:29-31. There are a few things to notice here before we get into the main idea for our time this morning. First, notice the response from Pharoah. We can deduct at least two things from his response. First, he didn't know the Lord. In fact, most Pharoah's were regarded as gods to their people, and no doubt that he was among those. Because of this, the command from the Lord God of Israel was meaningless to him. Second, he was only concerned about the work that the slaves were putting out there. In other words, if Pharoah followed the request of Moses and Aaron, he would be admitting that God was greater than he was, and that his business and economy would suffer by letting them go on this journey. So, his response was to make things even worse than they already were. We know from chapters 1-2 that they cried out because of how they were treated, and now we see them being treated even more harshly. This does lead us to our main idea. Following God is not always easy. Jesus said this to His disciples when He was getting ready for His departure. In John 16:33, we read these words: I HAVE SAID THESE THINGS TO YOU, THAT IN ME YOU MAY HAVE PEACE. IN THE WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TRIBULATION. BUT TAKE HEART; I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD. So, the question I want to ask is this: HOW DO WE RESPOND IN TIMES OF TROUBLE? I guess, in a way, there are at least two possible ways to respond. First, we could ... * Complain o Obviously, this is not the preferred response. o In verse 15, we see that the foremen went directly to Pharoah. * Of course, this wasn't going to do any good. In fact, Pharoah was only concerned about their output, not their worship. o Then, we read in verses 20-21 that they complain to Aaron and Moses. Let's read this to see exactly what their complaint was: 20 THEY MET MOSES AND AARON, WHO WERE WAITING FOR THEM, AS THEY CAME OUT FROM PHARAOH; 21 AND THEY SAID TO THEM, "THE LORD LOOK ON YOU AND JUDGE, BECAUSE YOU HAVE MADE US STINK IN THE SIGHT OF PHARAOH AND HIS SERVANTS, AND HAVE PUT A SWORD IN THEIR HAND TO KILL US." (Exodus 5:20-21) * Here, they are blaming Moses and Aaron for what has happened. * Surely, Moses and Aaron will remind them that they will be saved, that they will be released, right? * Well, if you were here last week, you probably already know the answer. Here was the response from Moses: 22 THEN MOSES TURNED TO THE LORD AND SAID, "O LORD, WHY HAVE YOU DONE EVIL TO THIS PEOPLE? WHY DID YOU EVER SEND ME? 23 FOR SINCE I CAME TO PHARAOH TO SPEAK IN YOUR NAME, HE HAS DONE EVIL TO THIS PEOPLE, AND YOU HAVE NOT DELIVERED YOUR PEOPLE AT ALL." (Exodus 5:22-23) * That leads us to our second possible response: * Pray o The reality is that Moses is complaining here. And more so, he's blaming God. However, this shouldn't have been a surprise to Moses. And his general approach could've been avoided if he remembered what the Lord had already said. Two examples from last week come to mind. In Exodus 3:19, we read: BUT I KNOW THAT THE KING OF EGYPT WILL NOT LET YOU GO UNLESS COMPELLED BY A MIGHTY HAND. And in Exodus 4:21, we read: 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. o We see that the Lord had already warned Moses that Pharoah was not going to comply, which is why we can affirm the statement from earlier: following God is not always easy. o Aside from that, I'm trying to look at the positive. In effect, Moses is praying. He speaks directly to the Lord and voices his concerns - not only for himself - but in response to the people's complaints. * This is foreshadowing some of the future intercessions that we see from Moses. This - to me - is the beginning of this period of growth. This leads us to chapter 6. This chapter has been said by some to be a second affirmation of Moses's call and mission. So, what we can see from this chapter is ... HOW TO FIND COMFORT IN TIMES OF TROUBLE God's response to Moses's prayer is almost dismissive. He doesn't directly respond, instead, God reminds Moses of what He had already spoken. In verse 1, we read: BUT THE LORD SAID TO MOSES, "NOW YOU SHALL SEE WHAT I WILL DO TO PHARAOH; FOR WITH A STRONG HAND HE WILL SEND THEM OUT, AND WITH A STRONG HAND HE WILL DRIVE THEM OUT OF HIS LAND." God is reminding Moses that He never said it was going to be easy. Think about your own lives. * God never said marriage would be easy. * God never said parenting would be easy. * God never said school would be easy. * God never said your job or career would be easy. * In a moment here, God will go through a series of things that He did say. o And that leads us to our first point: * Remember that God is God, and you are not. o Let's look at this section (6:2-5), and see how God responds: 2 GOD SPOKE TO MOSES AND SAID TO HIM, "I AM THE LORD. 3 I APPEARED TO ABRAHAM, TO ISAAC, AND TO JACOB, AS GOD ALMIGHTY, BUT BY MY NAME THE LORD I DID NOT MAKE MYSELF KNOWN TO THEM. 4 I ALSO ESTABLISHED MY COVENANT WITH THEM TO GIVE THEM THE LAND OF CANAAN, THE LAND IN WHICH THEY LIVED AS SOJOURNERS. 5 MOREOVER, I HAVE HEARD THE GROANING OF THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL WHOM THE EGYPTIANS HOLD AS SLAVES, AND I HAVE REMEMBERED MY COVENANT. o God says, "Moses, we talked about this already, I am with you! I am the Lord! I AM who I AM! Remember?" o I read something this week: * "Exodus 3:1-7:7 as a whole forms a large unit that us unified by a central theme: The God of Israel is in control. The main way in which this theme is presented is by the reiteration of the divine name in 3:14-15 and 6:3 and the recurring reference to God being the 'I AM'." o And because of this, we can now ... * Remember that God is faithful, even when we are not. o Earlier we said that following the Lord is hard. But I would add, it is worth it. * Here's the proof text for that statement. o God shows this to us, in the example of Israel, with seven "I WILL" statements. Let's read verses 6-8 to see these statements, and on the screen you will them emphasized and numbered. 6 SAY THEREFORE TO THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL, 'I AM THE LORD, AND (1) I WILL BRING YOU OUT FROM UNDER THE BURDENS OF THE EGYPTIANS, AND (2) I WILL DELIVER YOU FROM SLAVERY TO THEM, AND (3) I WILL REDEEM YOU WITH AN OUTSTRETCHED ARM AND WITH GREAT ACTS OF JUDGMENT. 7 (4) I WILL TAKE YOU TO BE MY PEOPLE, AND (5) I WILL BE YOUR GOD, AND YOU SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD, WHO HAS BROUGHT YOU OUT FROM UNDER THE BURDENS OF THE EGYPTIANS. 8 (6) I WILL BRING YOU INTO THE LAND THAT I SWORE TO GIVE TO ABRAHAM, TO ISAAC, AND TO JACOB. (7) I WILL GIVE IT TO YOU FOR A POSSESSION. I AM THE LORD.' " o Notice how this is bookended with "I AM THE LORD." * We will see this all throughout the book. It is the basis of the Law. o What's really neat about this section is that each of the verbs here are in the perfect tense. God is effectively saying that saying that there is absolute certainty that this will take place. o So, verse 9 tells us that Moses relays this to the people, but they are too distraught to listen and be comforted by these words. o So, God's response? In verses 10-13, God sends Moses and Aaron back to Pharoah. o Then, there is an awkward break in our text. Verses 14-25 is a genealogy, mostly focusing on the linage of Moses and Aaron, and their connection to Israel and to Levi, one of Israel's sons and the future priestly line which will be important later in this book. Finally, we approach chapter 7, and the opening verses here. This chapter sets up the signs of God that will force Pharoah to give up the people of Israel. Here though, in our text, we see two things. First, we see that one of the many results of this exodus will be that God will be known as seen in verse 5: THE EGYPTIANS SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD, WHEN I STRETCH OUT MY HAND AGAINST EGYPT AND BRING OUT THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL FROM AMONG THEM. Second, we'll see that Moses and Aaron are obedient to God's reminder and command in verse 6: MOSES AND AARON DID SO; THEY DID JUST AS THE LORD COMMANDED THEM. So, WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME? * Remember, there will be trials. o James 1:2-3 reminds us: 2 COUNT IT ALL JOY, MY BROTHERS, WHEN YOU MEET TRIALS OF VARIOUS KINDS, 3 FOR YOU KNOW THAT THE TESTING OF YOUR FAITH PRODUCES STEADFASTNESS. o But we have a choice. Just like we saw earlier, we can complain, or we can pray. o When we pray, we are asking God to help us to understand His purpose for us in this trials and tests. o When we pray, we are asking God to reveal Himself during this trial or test, so we can draw closer to Him. o Next ... * Aim to be obedient. o When we're talking about obedience, it's not only in following the rules, rather we're talking about doing what God is calling you to do. That's what we talked about last week, right? o When we are obedient, it shows that we trust God enough, knowing that He will provide. He will guide us. He will equip us. o Following God is not easy, which is why we must do so in faith. o Finally ... * Surrender all to the Lord. o This can be looked at in two ways. * First, within the immediate context of our passage today, we must surrender everything to the Lord. * When we're suffering, we surrender. * When we're happy, we surrender. * In all things, we surrender. * This is accomplished in several ways: o Prayer. o Reading and meditating in the Word. o And worship, to name a few. * Second, within the context of eternity * Maybe you haven't repented and believed yet. * If not, then the prior point seems impossible. * What's stopping you? Is it doubt? We all doubt. Is it a bad experience with church? Well, church is a product of faith, not where our faith should lie. Remember, the church is full of sinners, so they're going to be imperfect. Our trust should be in God, and God alone. * Whatever your reason, would you reconsider? In light of what we've seen today, we can be confident that God is faithful, and we can be confident that God is in complete control. * Surrendering to Him is acknowledging God as Lord of your life. I opened this morning with the realization that sometimes we are forced to learn as we go. We saw that we will still face trials and testing. We saw that following God is not always easy. But we also saw that we can be confident and find comfort in all things, because God is God and He is always faithful. Maybe your year has started off a bit rough. Maybe you are dealing with health issues. Maybe you are unsure of God's call for your life. Whatever you are facing today, if you have placed your faith in Jesus, God is with you, and will get you through it. But, the question remains, have you surrendered all to Him? If not, will you do that today? Let's pray. 2