The Response to Failure
Notes
Transcript
Last time we were in Exodus we talked about how Pharoah kept increasing the hard work of the Israelites.
this caused much suffering for them
trying to do the right thing made them look “bad” in the eyes of Pharoah
we had to step back assess who it is we’re really trying to please with our lives
are we trying to just please man or ourselves to try to make our lives easier?
or are we living for God first and foremost, even if that means taking on some suffering
we talked about the fact that what we’re living for at the end of the day truly reveals where our heart is truly at
what path and destination are we traveling toward?
are we following God’s Word as our guiding star like the wise men?
or are we wandering around in the wilderness of the world and our own heart.
Where we left off last time, the Israelites had gotten their word increased
they tried to do the right thing, but it backfired on them
which in their situation, would have been quite hard
they are making bricks in the hot egyptian sun as slaves, so surely it would have been easy to get frustrated
and as we’ll see to day, they did get frustrated
in today’s Scripture, we’ll see what the Israelites were saying in response to their work being increased
we’ll also see how Moses himself responded
and finally we’ll see the encouraging words that God said unto Moses
And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh:
And they said unto them, The Lord look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.
So here, the Israelites came to meet Moses and Aaron after they talked to Pharoah, and Pharoah decided to significantly increase their work\
The Israelites say “you have made our savour to be abhrored...”
we often see in the OT where when they would make a sacrifice, God called the smoke that came up from the fire the “sweet savour”
so essentially - the smell
so when they say “our savour to be abhorred,” they essentially mean “you’ve made us stink in the eyes of Pharoah”
So when they say this, where are the Israelites coming from?
are they coming from a perspective of protecting themselves and the easiness of their lives?
or are they coming from a perspective of taking on some pain for the sake of doing what is right?
they were mad at God for making their lives a little bit harder, even though it was in the pursuit of something much greater
and even though God had promised to lead them and give them a land flowing with milk and honey
essentially, they were lacking faith in God and being impatient with Him
they just needed to put their faith in God and go with what He said - in hindsight, we know they were actually delivered and God kept His promise
but instead, they decided to fight Him the whole way, and, in a way, were dragged kicking and screaming into the promised land
and of course, we are faced with similar circumstances, as God has given us promises, but we don’t know all the details of how our lives will play out
so if we’re doing what God wants us to do, and we hit a rough patch and things get hard, are we just going to put our faith in God and keep going?
or are we going to murmur the whole way, be complicated, and be frustrated with God just because things aren’t how WE envisioned.
we must humble ourselves and accept that we don’t always know everything and we don’t always know what’s best
so it’s better for us to trust in the one who does, and follow His path
if we lean on Him, He will direct our paths, right?
So this is where the Israelites are after not having success with Pharoah this time as well
Now we will see where Moses is at.
And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?
For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.
So even Moses is frustrated with this result - this is the 2nd time Pharoah had refused to release them
Moses, as a human being, cannot wrap his mind around why God would ask him to do this whole thing?
Moses had to go talk to the people and get their support, then go to Pharoah and try to get him to let the people go, and yet it fails
so it would surely make a person without the benefit of hindsight kind of wonder what could possibly be going on.
so even Moses’s response to failure has much to be desired at this point, though from a human perspective, one could kind of see where the frustration is coming from
even then, it comes down to where we’re putting our faith - are we putting it in our knowledge, in our feelings?
or are we lifting it up to God? are we handing it over to God and putting the faith in Him to sort everything out
bearing in mind, He promised He would.
and this is the thing we must lean on in our lives, when we face troubles for trying to do right.
Speaking of Moses’s frustration in this tough time, let’s look at a quote here - SLIDE
“The same thing often occurs to us, that the doctrine of faith and hope, which in peaceful times shines brightly in our hearts and echoes from our tongue, is altogether lost when we come to serious conflict. Wherefore we ought to devote ourselves with greater goodwill to its study, that even in the most trying circumstances the recollection of it may be our support.”
So the quote is saying that in these hard times, it’s a good thing to study
to go back and reflect upon all the good things that God has done and will do for us
thinking of this - there are a few verses that come to mind that would be perfect in this situation
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
so if we were to have dug in and studies when we faced hard times when trying to do right, there are verses like these to run across
and these directly address the situation we are in
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Speaking of encouraging verses as we study during hard times, there are some verses directly after where we’re at in Exodus.
So now God responds to Moses, after Moses getting frustrated with God that things haven’t went how he thought they were going to go
Before we read that though, lets think for a second, Moses got mad at God - which really gets one nowhere - what are you really going to do with that anger as a person?
if we think about Job, eventually he asked God what was going on with his life and why
God came spoke to him and said “Hey, were you there when I laid the foundation of the world? were you there when I did x,y, and z? You don’t know the plan like I do.”
which essentially is saying, “look, just put your faith in me and I’ll bring you through, even though you may not know every detail of everything”
So Moses did here what Job would end up doing, getting a bit frustrated and wonder what was going on.
So let’s look into how God responded to Moses
Then the Lord said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.
So this strong hand is God’s strong hand, it’s essentially saying “through my strong hand shall he let them go” and “ by my strong hand shall he drive them out...”
So God reminds Moses of His strong hand
He reminds Moses that God is the one with the true power in the situation, even in comparison with pharoah
on earth, we have to remember that though people may be causing us problems, we serve a greater God
God has the ability to bring us through any problem caused by any human
so for us to let any people problems get us down to the point of giving up, whether it be completely or just a little, is not good
because we have a greater God who can bring us through any possible problem
the question is, will we go with Him along the path?
or will we diverge and go our own way.
If we look at the end of the verse, it says that HE (pharoah) will drive the Israelites out of the land
He wouldn’t let them go in the previous verse
but God changed the situation so much that the situation would reverse and Pharoah would indeed drive them out
situations like these show why we need to lean on God through what may be some hard times, and see it through to the end.
And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord:
And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.
And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.
v2 - I AM the Lord, which is something that we should keep our mind on at all times - that God is the one over the world
that God has the power to change our lives for the better
that God has the power to mold us into something great
that God has made us promises, and has shown throughout the Bible that He keeps all His promises
He IS the Lord, who cares enough about us to send Christ as a Savior to us
He IS God, who we can let bear our burdens
He IS God, who loved us FIRST, before we loved Him
and He is the Lord, who created us, and all the good things of the world
v3-4 - God, again, reminds Moses of the promise that He has made to them, which we know He later kept
which is something that should have not only been encouraging to Moses, but us as well
And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.
As we’ve read in previous passages, God reminds Moses again that He is hearing their cries
that He sees what’s going on in their situation
God was not just absent from the last time that He talked to Moses
He had seen everything that was going on
this is something else that we can take encouragement in
We can always know that God truly knows what’s going on with us - we never have to worry about Him not knowing
we can come to Him bearing our soul and He completely understands the situation
and could we ask for anything more from someone who offers to bear our burdens for us?
if we just study His word during these hard times, we come across all of these concepts, and more, and we see just how great God is
and just how great the opportunity to be His people truly is
which makes the hard times on earth seem small in comparison
Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the Lord.
Finally, God tells Moses the out and out plan on the nose
He speaks of their redemption
He speaks of judgement upon the evil that is oppressing them
He speaks of taking them in as a people
and He speaks of bringing them to a peaceful land
and He fulfills every one of these promises
and we have these same promises to look forward to as well, just in our own way
So we can learn much through the story of the exodus
not just how we should respond to situations
but what we have to look forward to as well
and that we can know that what God tells us, we can truly believe in
So if we’re going through some difficult time, we have a mountain of encouragement in the Bible that we can always access
and we have knowledge of the great things that God can do for us in mind
and all of these things can help us get through failure or tough times.