Gospel Promises
Notes
Transcript
EXODUS 6:1–8
Remember last week we ended in Chapter 5 with Moses feeling discouraged and not understanding why things got harder for the people of Isreal and not better. And that the people of Isreal blamed Moses for the trouble he brought upon them. Now in Chapter 6-7 we see God’s promised sovereign response.
Promises provide us with hope of what is to come. In the midst of darkness, promises remind us of the glory of God. Here we find that God gave Moses three awesome reminders. These truths are timeless. As a result, we need to dwell on them daily as well.
Lets begin with v.1 Ex. ch 6
1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”
First reminder we see is that...
God Is in Control (6:1)
God Is in Control (6:1)
As the story continues, God assured Moses that there is only One sovereign, and it is not the man with the snake on his head. God never answered the question “Why?” He simply reminded Moses that His plan would not be thwarted. He reminded Moses that He is in control. Many believers believe in God’s sovereignty theologically, but practically they are emotional train wrecks! They have not worked this truth down deep into their hearts.
God is working all things for His people’s good. He is always using circumstances to shape us into His Son’s image.
Second reminder is this....
God Keeps His Covenant (6:2–5)
God Keeps His Covenant (6:2–5)
2 And 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 Lord I was not known to them.
4 I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers.
5 And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.
God kept repeating these things. God wanted His people to remind themselves of His promises.
One can trace this glorious theme throughout Scripture.
Ultimately, God kept His covenant in Jesus.
In Christ, we are part of an eternal covenant, established by Christ’s own blood.
Because of this, we can find peaceful rest during life’s discouraging times. We have a Savior who died, rose, ascended to the Father, and now intercedes for us. He is forever faithful to His people. Remember His covenant.
The third reminder
God Saves (6:6–8)
God Saves (6:6–8)
We should pay careful attention to the “I will” statements in 6:6–8.
They can be grouped into five gospel words or five words of salvation. I want to pair these four gospel words with New Testament references. What I love about Exodus is that it is so visual. We are watching theology unfold. God is going to do all of this. All He asks His people to do is know that He is Yahweh. Salvation is all of God.
The first gospel concept we should note is liberation.
Five Words of Salvation
1. Liberation
“I will deliver you from the forced labor of the Egyptians and free you from slavery to them” (6:6).
6 Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.
This is a picture of salvation. God is going to bring His people out of slavery. He is going to deliver them. God liberated the people from bondage through the mediator Moses. This would be accomplished by grace through faith for it was not something that they had earned. The purpose of this liberation was that they might worship the Almighty God. And, as we will see in Exodus 15, the people celebrated their liberation.
Of course these gospel truths are taught in the New Testament as well. In Exodus, we see a picture of what is to come. For instance, Paul said Jesus “gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age” (Gal 1:4).
On a similar level God set us free, from spiritual slavery and our inability to keep the law, through the mediator Jesus Christ. This occurs only by grace through faith, for we have not earned this. The purpose of our release is worship as well. We were made to worship, and only though this liberation can we truly worship.
The next gospel concept we should recognize is redemption.
Five Words of Salvation
1. Liberation
2. Redemption
In 6:6 it says, “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment.”
6 Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.
What a gospel word this is!
John Cartwright says this about redemption...
Redemption is not a “do it yourself” project. The kind of redemption that God has in mind is one that only he can accomplish. It is the kind of redemption that leaves you speechless.
John Cartwright
The word “redeem” carries the idea of “purchasing,” but there is more to it than that.
“Redeem” in Hebrew often communicates that there is a privilege or duty of a close relative. The go’el the word used here in Hebrew, was a member of the wider family who acted to protect the family when they were in some particular types of situations. The go’el was the “kinsman protector” or “family champion” (Wright, Mission, 266).
This was seen in many situations. If a member of the family was murdered, the go’el would see to it that the guilty person was brought to justice (Num 35).
If a kinsman fell into debt and was forced to sell land, a better-off kinsman (a kinsman protector) would take the responsibility to purchase the land in order to keep it in the family.
If the situation was so bad that the debtor had to offer himself and his family into bonded labor, the kinsman protector would act to rescue them from servitude (Lev 25).
God is the ultimate go’el, the family protector, the family champion! God is an eligible go’el! He is going to ga’al (redeem) His people.
In Exodus, God was coming to the aid of His people. His relatives were in bonded labor, spiritual slavery, and He was coming to defend, intervene, avenge, and rescue them.
He was coming to redeem them with justice.
As the text says, “[God] will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment” (Exod 6:6).
He was also coming to ensure that the ultimate family heir would be preserved. Ultimately, this people would bring forth Messiah, the ultimate Redeemer.
In Galatians, Paul put redemption and the family dimension of adoption together. He said in 4:4–7,
4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
In your discouragement, remember that you have a Redeemer! Jesus, your kinsman protector, your family champion, has intervened in your misery.
The third gospel concept for us to consider is adoption.
Five Words of Salvation
1. Liberation
2. Redemption
3. Adoption
“I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am Yahweh your God, who delivered you from the forced labor of the Egyptians” (Exod 6:7).
7 I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
This verse shows us the familial nature of salvation. It reminds us of the doctrine of adoption. God was going to take Israel as His people. He had already called them His “son” (4:22).
This is a display of God’s matchless love.
Paul said of God’s choice of Israel,
4 who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises;
Through adoption, God brings us into His family. This is privilege!
John said,
1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
The fourth gospel concept is inheritance.
Five Words of Salvation
1. Liberation
2. Redemption
3. Adoption
4. Inheritance
“I will bring you to the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession” (Exod 6:8).
8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’ ”
God was promising His people that they would possess a country. This promise was first mentioned to Abraham (Gen 12:7).
Later, in the book of Joshua, we will see the people entering, conquering, and inhabiting the land.
These people had nothing. They were slaves in Egypt. But God is going to give them an inheritance. He is going to give them the promised land—all by His grace. They did not earn it.
The New Testament applies this idea of inheriting the promised land to the believers’ hope in the new heavens and new earth.
By Jesus’ resurrection, we have “inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” (1 Pet 1:4).