Preparing for God's Plan

Introduction

“Exodus is an adventure story par excellence. It features a cruel villain (Pharaoh), an unlikely hero (Moses), overwhelming disasters (the plagues), a spectacular deliverance (crossing the Red Sea), a long journey (through the wilderness), a mountaintop experience (where Moses received the Ten Commandments), and a grand finale (the presence of God coming down to the ark of the covenant, filling the tabernacle with glory). The story features unexpected setbacks and unpredictable delays, magic tricks (from Pharaoh’s sorcerers) and miracles, feasts and festivals, music and dancing, and many close encounters with the living God. God’s purpose in all of this was to show his glory by fulfilling the promises he made to his people in the covenant. The exodus is the archetypal deliverance of the OT—the definitive salvation event that established the identity of Israel as the people of God and demonstrated the character of their Deliverer as the God who saves.”

Crossway Bibles. 2008. The ESV Study Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Exodus:

It is a story about God

A shadow of Jesus

A lesson for us

Exodus 2 (ESV)

1 Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank.

15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.”

22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”

Chapter one ends with a decree against all the sons, and chapter two opens with one of those sons.

It is God working with and concerned with individuals.

4 And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. 5 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 9 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”

Oh, the divine irony! The cold and ruthless Pharaoh has a compassionate and caring daughter.

The river, which was supposed to kill this little boy, actually carried him to safety.

God used the household of the one trying kill to be the one who brings life.

This little Hebrew, who should fear royal condemnation, actually enjoyed royal protection. (no one would dare hurt the princess’ son)

11 One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. 12 He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” 14 He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses.

But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well. 16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and watered their flock. 18 When they came home to their father Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come home so soon today?” 19 They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 He said to his daughters, “Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.” 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah. 22 She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.”

The Message of Exodus: The Days of Our Pilgrimage 7. God behind the Scenes

A1 Sons destined for slaughter: the people under threat (1:22)

B1 Marriage: Moses’ parents (2:1)

C Key daughters

Levi’s daughter and the baby Moses (2:1–3)

Jochebed’s daughter and the infant Moses (2:4–9)

Pharaoh’s daughter and the growth of Moses (2:10)

Jethro’s daughters and Moses’ safety (2:11–20)

B2 Marriage: Moses and Zipporah (2:21)

A2 A son born in safety: the people continue (2:22)

(( 23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.))

Whole chapter - end of man’s plans and continuation of Gods

Three truths with implications from each of the truths.

God is working behind the scenes

ILLUST - Ever see “The Truman Show”? I remember thinking when I watched the movie, “There is a sermon illustration here!”

Philippians 1:6–7 (ESV)

6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

House doesn’t matter as much as heart

God’s plan will happen

**You cannot out plan God

Pharaoh - had all the power and all the planning to stop the Israelites from growing.

If I were an advisor to Pharaoh, I would have to say that killing all male babies would be an effective method for stopping the Israelites.

But you can’t out plan God.

Moses - came up with his own plan to free the Israelites, or at least one.

Israelites - With everything around them against them, God’s plan still wins.

The Message of Exodus: The Days of Our Pilgrimage 7. God behind the Scenes

The people of God are never ‘merely’ gripped in life’s circumstances, they are always gripped in the hand of God

The greatest efforts of the world around you will never sidestep the plan of God

**The timing of God’s plan is part of His plan.

Watch for God’s timing

ILLUST - the perfect timing.

God is never late

Wait for God’s timing

It may feel like God has the wrong time.

Moses is born under a death threat

Imagine Jochebed: “What? a baby now? What if it’s a boy? What? It’s a boy?”

“Couldn’t God have done this year earlier? Couldn’t he have waited a couple more years?”

Why now?

Moses had the right idea but the wrong time.

When it didn’t seem like God was working fast enough to free his people, Moses took matters into his own hands.

11 One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. . . he struck down the Egyptian

Too often, when we attempt to change the timing of God’s plan, it only leads to problems.

This typically happens when we make decisions in light of what’s currently on the stage in front of us and we forget God behind the scenes.

ex.,

When we come to the end of our plans, we are still in the middle of God’s plan.

The Message of Exodus: The Days of Our Pilgrimage c. His Good-Hearted Concern

whatever the Lord may call any of us to, we may rest assured that his gracious preparation has made us exactly right for the task

The Message of Exodus: The Days of Our Pilgrimage 5. Gone but Not Forgotten (2:15–22)

Maybe the most important initial lesson for Moses (and us) from his flight to Midian was that the Lord still loved and cared for him in the midst of his mistakes and failures (cf. 1 Kgs 19:3–8). Moses, who humanly speaking, had ‘messed the whole thing up’, found safety, home and family awaiting him, made ready by a gracious but yet undeclared providence

**God’s plan is even in the desert

not to be too metaphorical

Moses in the desert

Think about all that Moses learned in the desert

Israelites in the desert

Philippians 1:6–7 (ESV)

6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.

To make decisions throughout your week without recognizing God behind the scenes is at best naive and at worst rebellious.

How often did you acknowledge or even think about God’s work in the background of your life this week?

We just made the case that indeed God is at work in the background of life, of your week, of your day.

the “presence” of God that we see in Exodus doesn’t begin in the Tabernacle - God is always present.

Did you even think about how God was in the background at work this past week?

God was in the background at home?

*PRAY*

God’s plan uses people.

You don’t need to be perfect or powerful for God to use you.

In fact, God often uses the most unlikely of people so that His glory might be displayed.

God uses several women to subvert the most powerful man on earth.

Shiphrah and Puah

Jochebed

Miriam

Daughter of Pharaoh

We will touch more on this next time.

God will prepare you for His work through you.

Moses is 40 yrs old when he goes into the desert

Moses - did he have a hint that God was going to use him as a deliverer for the people of Israel?

He kills the Egyptian and expects to rally a revolution, instead he faces banishment.

The preparation is not always pleasant.

From the son of Pharaoh to a fugitive

From the palace to a tent

From Pharaoh’s food to sandy bread

In fact, more than preparation it may feel like unnecessary pain

The preparation may not seem practical.

The desert? God, I had more power while I was in the palace.

Surely there was a better way. Moses likely had access to all the best education in Egypt.

The preparation may not look purposeful.

How will spending time alone in the desert prepare Moses for freeing God’s people from slavery in Egypt? (You know the answer because you know what’s coming, but Moses didn’t)

But the preparation is always planned.

Maybe not according to our plan but always according to God’s plan.

I can think of at least two conversations this past week where I was able to share what God had taught me (through difficult situations) that, while in the situation, I never could have seen how they could be useful.

I’ll even be more honest - what I thought felt more like punishment was actually preparation.

Been there?

Two options to the difficulty -

build strength

create callousness

What was Moses’ attitude (at least eventually) in the wilderness?

Exodus 2:21 (ESV)

21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah.

“agreed to sit”

He knows it is not where he is supposed to be but it is where he finds himself now

Exodus 2:22 (ESV)

22 She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.”

He stops viewing it as a place to get away from and instead is content to sit want wait.

**Too often we want God to reshape our situations instead allowing Him to reshape us through our situation. **

The pain you feel now may be preparation for what God wants to do through you later.

It can only be preparation if you acknowledge God behind the scenes who wants to use people for his plans. Otherwise, it’s just pain.

How might God be preparing you right now so you might partner with him for His plan?

What emotional valley are you in right now that feels like a punishment but may actually be preparation? How might God be preparing you to lead others out of the valley?

How might the difficult lessons you are learning after making poor decisions be preparing you to guide others away from making the same poor decisions?

How might God want to use you to help someone as God prepares them?

Don’t forget about Jethro

Didn’t leave Moses out there.

Used his wisdom to guide Moses

God used Jethro in Moses’ preparation

God provided through Jethro just what Moses needed to make it through the preparation

Who has God divinely placed around you that you can guide through God’s preparation.

How can God provide through you. Are you willing to allow him to use you?

child, coworker, spouse

God’s plan always points to Jesus.

Shadows of Jesus:

godly woman brings the deliverer

Deliverer comes as a baby

Decree to kill baby boys

Both spend time growing up in Egypt

Time of testing in the wilderness

How often did you acknowledge or even think about God’s work in the background of your life this week?

Is there a situation you are going through right now that you are pushing against, that instead, you need to allow God to prepare you?