An Unexpected Journey

EXODUS 4:19-31

STATEMENT OF FAITH

What the Bible teaches regarding the way of salvation.

PASTORAL PRAYER

Church

Firmly rooted in God’s promises.

Thank you for those serving on setup and tear down.

Community

Know of God’s promises and believe them.

Other churches

Oikos Community Church (Hilliard)

Pastor Daniel Funke - getting settled in

Nation & World

Florida - Hurricane Idalia

Gov. Ron DeSantis

Pres. Joe Biden

Sikh Valmiki (wahl-MEE-kee) of India

0.00% evangelical Christian.

They have a complete Bible, praise God.

Send missionaries.

India Prime Minister: Narendra Damodardas Modi

Conversion

Wisdom leading India

Biblical understanding of justice & righteousness

INTRO

YouTube fishing videos

“Catch 15x MORE Bass - TRY THIS!”

It’s frustrating when promises don’t come to fruition.

Bobby Jamieson (pastor theologian) One of the central challenges of the Christian life is the struggle to trust God’s promises. Few things strengthen and sustain our faith like seeing God’s “I will” become “I did.”

God fulfills every one of his promises; therefore, he’s worthy to be worshiped.

Context

Last week, God met with Moses as a burning bush in the wilderness.

Commanded Moses to return to Egypt to deliver his people from their bondage.

Moses responded with 5 objections:

Credentials

Content

Convincing

Communication

Commitment

Rather than fixing his confidence in God, he was focused on himself.

Eventually, Moses obeys God’s command.

Returns to Midian.

Receives father-in-law’s blessing to go to Egypt.

This week, we see Moses begin his unexpected journey.

Unexpected that he’s going on this journey.

Unexpected things take place during this journey.

Moses continues to grow in his understanding of who God is.

Theme: God making himself known.

SCRIPTURE READING

Sermon Text: Exodus 4:19-31

Outline:

God as Father (vv.19-23)

God as covenant-keeper (vv.24-26)

God as faithful (vv.27-31)

Read: Exodus 4:19-31 (p.47)

Pray

GOD AS FATHER (vv.19-23)

(vv.19-20) God paves the way

Exodus 4:19 (ESV)

19 And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.”

Those who sought to kill Moses have all died.

It’s been 40 years since Moses left Egypt.

Takes the staff of God with him (v.20)

As we’ll see, the staff represents God’s presence.

(v.21) God will harden Pharaoh’s heart

Moses will perform the miracles God has equipped him with, but Pharaoh won’t listen. Why?

B/C God is hardening Pharaoh’s heart. He tells Moses...

Exodus 4:21 (ESV)

...“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.

Easy to come to this and say, “Hmm… That’s weird… I’ll just keep reading...” If you do keep reading...

You’ll read 3x that the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart (Exod. 9:12; 10:1; 14:8).

You’ll read 5x that Pharaoh hardened his own heart (Exod. 7:13, 22; 8:15, 32; 9:35).

So which is it? Well… Both.

Heb. “harden” = make strong

God is making strong what’s already true about Pharaoh’s heart: it’s against Yahweh.

Which is the same disposition we all naturally have.

In his sin, Pharaoh has freely turned his heart away from God.

God is simply taking what’s already there and making it stronger.

Taking water and introducing freezing temperatures. The substance hasn’t changed (H2O), but it becomes physically harder when outside elements are introduced.

The substance of Pharaoh’s heart hasn’t changed, but after introducing Moses and the plagues, Pharaoh’s heart will become harder toward God. God knows this... So, why does he do it? He tells us in Romans...

Rom. 9:17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

God will harden Pharaoh’s heart for at least 2 reasons...

He will have the opportunity to show how much more powerful he is than all of Egypt’s false gods.

By revealing his strength against Egypt, his name (Yahweh) will be made known throughout all the earth.

(vv.22-23) God reveals himself as Father

Exodus 4:22–23 (ESV)

22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, 23 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.’ ”

God identifies Israel as his firstborn son.

Noteworthy b/c Pharaoh would have understood himself to be a god.

There’s a squaring off that’s taking place here: Yahweh vs. Pharaoh

Pharaoh has mistreated and abused Yahweh’s son.

Yahweh gives Pharaoh a chance to release his son.

If Pharaoh refuses, Yahweh will take Pharaoh’s firstborn son.

vv.22-23 beg the question: Who’s son is going to survive?

SUMMARY: Moses is told to deliver this message to Pharaoh: The true God (Yahweh) has seen the oppression you’ve afflicted on his firstborn son. Now, release God’s son or lose your own son.

Similarly, God has seen the oppression of sin against his people.

It has not gone unnoticed. He’s doing something about it.

But this time, it’s not Pharaoh’s son who would die for our freedom.

God sent his own Son. Why?

B/C no one else could take on the FULL penalty of sin and live.

God’s wrath against sin is so severe that we would pay eternally for it.

HURTING:

God sees your suffering.

Suffering exists b/c sin entered the world.

God is working to eradicate sin completely.

CHRISTIAN:

Don’t be surprised at suffering.

But fix your hope on that eternal land that God is preparing for his people that will be entirely free of sin & suffering.

Gloryland (Ralph Stanley) If you have friends in Gloryland Who left because of pain Thank God up there, they'll die no more They'll suffer not again

God is a good Father who cares about the suffering of his children.

He addresses their suffering by making promises/covenants and keeping them!...

GOD AS COVENANT-KEEPER (vv.24-26)

(vv.24-26) The story takes an unexpected turn

Exodus 4:24–26 (ESV)

24 At a lodging place on the way the Lord met him and sought to put him to death. 25 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!” 26 So he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.

Why on earth did God go from choosing Moses to be a deliverer to seeking to put him to death?!

It may seem like the opposite, but God was actually being consistent. What do you mean?

Hundreds of years earlier, God had entered into a relationship/covenant with Abraham.

Genesis 17 elaborates on this:

Gen. 17:2-6 - multiply you greatly…you shall be the father of a multitude of nations...exceedingly fruitful...

Abraham’s offspring will be God’s chosen people.

Gen. 17:8 - God promises to give Abraham’s offspring a land of their own

Entered covenant w/ Abraham when he was 99 years old (obviously hard for Abraham to believe he was going to be exceedingly fruitful).

To serve as a reminder, God gave him a sign (intentionally tied to reproduction)

Gen. 17:10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.

Gen. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.

The sign was what formally brought someone into the covenant community.

To have received the sign = member of the covenant community.

To lack the sign = not a member of the covenant community.

TO SUMMARIZE THE COVENANT IN GENESIS 17:

99 yr-old Abraham is going to be extremely fruitful.

Abraham’s offspring will be God’s covenant people.

God will give them a land of their own.

The sign of this covenant/promise is male circumcision.

In the Old Covenant, God’s people were identified through outward, visible signs.

Male circumcision was the initiatory sign.

Communicated trust in God’s promise.

Signified entrance into the visible covenant community. Just as a passport communicates belonging to a country, circumcision communicated belonging to Israel.

Passover meal would later become an ongoing sign.

To remember God fulfilling his promise to deliver his people from bondage.

No male could participate in the Passover meal if he wasn’t circumcised.

If he hadn’t received the initiatory sign (circumcision), he wasn’t permitted to participate in the ongoing sign (the Passover meal).

So here’s the issue...

REMEMBER, circumcision reminded God’s people of his promise/covenant with Abraham...

They would be fruitful.

They would be given a land of their own.

Moses was chosen by God to deliver his people out of the land of Egypt and to a land of their own, one flowing with milk and honey (Exod. 3:8).

So, the man God chose to fulfill the covenant had failed to observe the covenant himself!

Moses had sinfully disobeyed God’s command to circumcise all of his sons.

God addressed his sin.

Moses’ wife (Zipporah), wisely recognizes that two things needed to be addressed:

Moses’ sin.

Heb. 9:22 ...without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

Their son's circumcision.

In one swift action she addresses both.

Zipporah circumcises her son.

Covenant sign is properly administered.

Covenant is kept.

Touches Moses with her son’s foreskin, calling him a bridegroom of blood.

Blood was shed for her husband’s sin.

God accepts this blood atonement (v.26 “So he let him alone....”)

SUMMARY: Moses failed to keep God’s commands, but he was delivered by the actions of another (Zipporah).

Like Moses...

We’ve neglected God’s commands.

We deserve death.

We need someone to step in and do what we should have done.

The death we deserve is averted through the shedding of blood.

Jesus...

Did not neglect God’s commands; rather, he fulfilled them.

As our substitute, he lived the perfectly God-honoring life we should have lived.

As our substitute, he shed his own blood on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin.

ALL: Don’t neglect God’s commands.

CHRISTIAN:

Obeying God’s commands is not legalistic; it’s faithful.

Growing in holiness = growing in obedience.

If you’re indwelt with the Holy Spirit (all Xians are), you’ll have a desire to grow in holiness.

NON-CHRISTIAN:

Each day you’re obeying the commands of someone/something.

Who are you serving?

Douglas Stuart The Israelites had been serving Pharaoh; now God told Pharaoh that the Israelites were going to serve him. Their liberation came not in being freed from having to work but in being freed from working for the wrong master.

God commands you to repent and believe the gospel.

What’s keeping you from obeying this simple command?

WOMEN:

If your husband is failing to obey God’s commands, be like Zipporah!

You step in and show him & your family what obedience to God looks like.

GOD AS FAITHFUL (vv.27-31)

(vv.27-31a) Everything happens as God said it would

Exodus 4:27–31a (ESV)

27 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. 28 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. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. 30 Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people believed;...

As a covenant-keeper, God is entirely trustworthy.

God said Aaron would go out to meet Moses.

Check.

God said they’d gather the elders of Israel.

Check.

God said Aaron would be Moses’ mouthpiece.

Check.

God said he’d provide signs for Moses to show the people.

Check.

God said the people would believe.

Check.

ALL: If God says something, you can trust it.

Josh. 1:5 ...I will not leave you or forsake you.

You can trust he’ll be with you no matter what you go through.

Rev. 22:12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.”

You can trust that Christ is coming back to repay each person for what they’ve done.

Matt. 11:28 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

You can trust that there is genuine rest in Christ.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

You can trust that if you confess your sin then you are cleansed from ALL unrighteousness.

2 Cor. 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

You can trust that in Christ, you BECOME the righteousness of God.

John 19:30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

You can trust that everything necessary for salvation has been accomplished. In Christ, it is finished.

(v.31b) Notice how the people respond to God’s faithfulness

Exodus 4:31b (ESV)

31 ...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.

God has shown himself faithful to his covenant people.

SUMMARY: God over and over again shows himself to be faithful to his promises.

CONCLUSION

...if we are asking upon what we should base our confidence, the answer must ultimately be that our confidence is based on the faithfulness of God.

Wayne Grudem

God fulfills every one of his promises; therefore, he’s worthy to be worshiped.

Place your confidence in God’s faithfulness.

His faithfulness to address the oppression of his people.

His faithfulness to pay the penalty for their sin in full.

Rejoice that God has seen our affliction and has visited his people.

Let that lead to your glad worship!

This has all been accomplished in Christ.

The Son of God stood in the place of God’s people as their substitute.

He took on the wrath of God so we could be spared from enduring it forever in hell.

That deliverance/salvation is available to all who entrust themselves entirely to Christ.