From the Palace to the Pasture

Exodus 2:11–22 NASB95

11 Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his brethren and looked on their hard labors; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 So he looked this way and that, and when he saw there was no one around, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 He went out the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were fighting with each other; and he said to the offender, “Why are you striking your companion?” 14 But he said, “Who made you a prince or a judge over us? Are you intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well. 16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock. 18 When they came to Reuel their father, he said, “Why have you come back so soon today?” 19 So they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and what is more, he even drew the water for us and watered the flock.” 20 He said to his daughters, “Where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat.” 21 Moses was willing to dwell with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses. 22 Then she gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.”

INTRO: As we return to our study in Exodus, you may remember that Moses was born in a volatile time, but instead of being thrown into the Nile to death, he was rescued and brought into the richness of Pharaoh’s home. Born to slaves, he was brought up as a prince. It’s kind of a fairy tale of a story, isn’t it?

Now, how many of you remember daydreaming about that kind of fairy tale future? You know- perhaps a time when you would become rich or famous? When you have all that you want- nobody telling you that you can’t afford this or that. Maybe you dreamed of being president or going to the moon…

And if we could chart our course, it would be simple and filled with nothing but successful ventures. But growth happens as we strive and struggle, not when everything goes smoothly. It takes time. When you plant an acorn, it doesn’t just become a mighty oak tree overnight. It takes years of slow growth. Seasons of warmth and seasons of cold.

ILL: When I was just a boy, about my son’s age, my mom died suddenly. Circumstances sorta forced me to grow up at a different rate than many of my friends. Even in high school, I faced some adversity and - believe it or not- was more mature than many of my peers.

One day, not too long after high school graduation, I remember getting really frustrated at my best friend because in my opinion, he was making bad financial decisions, bad relationship decisions, and finally I kinda blew up and asked him, “When are you going to grow up?!” His answer surprised me. He said, “I’m working on it.”

It hit me that day- You know, I wasn’t done growing up either… I guess I’m still working on it too. You see, I have learned that growth is ongoing. Wherever you are in life, there is a sense that we are all still working on growing up.

Well, when it comes to Moses, we get, in this passage, a peek at some of his growing up. Unlike his ancestor Joseph who went from watching over flocks in the fields to reigning over much of Egypt, Moses’ growth took a seemingly opposite path.

While the last 38 chapters of Exodus deal with maybe a year or so of time, in this short passage, we are going to look at the 80 years that preceded it. That’s right, as we’ll see in chapter 7, Moses was 80 years old when God sent him to deliver the Israelites.

How many of you are younger than 80? Can I just tell you that God wants to use you? Anyone over 80? Hey! You might be just the right age for God to send you on a mission like he did for Moses and Aaron.

The sermon today is titled, From the Palace to the Pasture. We are going to trace three major milestones in Moses’ growth. As we do, it is my hope that we can see how we are all on a growth path, all according to God’s plan.

Take out your sermon guides and follow along with me. We begin by looking at the catalyst or launching off point of Moses’ growth, that is

Wrestling with Identity (11a)

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We can notice here that Moses understood that he was not an Egyptian. The text says he went out to his brethren. No doubt this occasion was not the first time Moses ever had the thought that he did not belong in Pharaoh’s house.

But this was not when he was a teenager. In fact, we see in Acts 7:23 , that Moses was nearly 40 years old at this time. That means that he had been educated and he likely had experience in military training. After all, he was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter and she no doubt had her eye on Moses being in line for the crown.

So, at this time, Moses had to wrestle with who he was. And so you can imagine that when we went out among the Hebrews, he must’ve felt a great tug: These people- his own relatives - are being oppressed by his adopted family.

So the choice was either the riches and comforts of the world or to forsake it all. He could betray his people and identify as an Egyptian, or he could abandon his riches and become poor and oppressed. There was no middle ground, for if he continued in his Egyptian practices, he would himself become the oppressor of his own people, and if he was to overturn the oppression, he would have to overthrow the Pharaoh, upsetting the whole of those who had nurtured him for so long.

So Moses had to wrestle with who he was. He had to ask questions about God and His purpose. Can you imagine? Some of you might be wrestling right now with some of these very questions.

Of course, we are not privy to all that took place in Moses’ mind and heart, but the writer of Hebrews gives us insight. Listen to

Hebrews 11:24–26 NASB95

24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.

So what we can see is that this child who was seen as ‘goodly’ or ‘beautiful’ by his parents as an infant, wrestled with his identity and chose that which cannot be seen nor measured above all the pleasures of Egyptian royalty. He was able to somehow see the infinite worth of being numbered among God’s people. As Jesus asked his disciples, Mk. 8:36

Mark 8:36 NASB95

36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?

This was a pivotal time in his growth, and is crucial for you and me as well. We have to wrestle with our identity as well. Who are you? You see, we tend to place our identity in things of this world- our wealth, our talents, our academics or athletic ability, our careers.

Hey listen folks, if you are in Christ, you are a new creation- your identity has been changed! You are no longer a child of wrath, but a child of God! Our treasure is not that which can be stolen or that may corrode. Rather, our riches are laid up in heaven!

Look at me folks- if your identity is in anything other than Christ, you are on a road headed for disaster. I want to urge you to wrestle with the reality of who God is and who you are. When you get that settled, oh boy! THEN, you are on the path to growth- leaning into and learning the joy of the Lord.

Wrestling with Identity launched Moses’ journey of growth. Now, as we continue, we see the next milestone of growth:

Realizing Convictions (11b-17)

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As Moses began to understand his identity, we see that he was compelled to action when he saw that a task master was unjustly beating or abusing a Hebrew man.

Now, we could debate whether Moses acted rashly- perhaps we could critique his action based upon our culture or we could even claim that this whole incident was a mistake.

But as we look to the Scriptures, we see in Acts 7 where Stephen explains Moses actions as an effort to rally the Hebrews around what is right and to lead a revolt or exodus right then.

Look with me at Acts 7:23-29

Acts 7:23–29 NASB95

23 “But when he was approaching the age of forty, it entered his mind to visit his brethren, the sons of Israel. 24 “And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended him and took vengeance for the oppressed by striking down the Egyptian. 25 “And he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him, but they did not understand. 26 “On the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting together, and he tried to reconcile them in peace, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren, why do you injure one another?’ 27 “But the one who was injuring his neighbor pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us? 28 ‘You do not mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday, do you?’ 29 “At this remark, Moses fled and became an alien in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.

You see, Moses had the right conviction, but was misunderstood by those he hoped to rescue. Evidently, this was not exactly how God wanted him to deliver the Israelites. But here’s the thing: This was not a wasted effort. It was all part of God’s plan for his growth.

In fact, this conviction for justice showed up again as Moses arrived in Midian. You see him stand up for the women who were trying to water their flock and instead were being bullied by a neighboring tribe.

This instance worked out better for Moses- we don’t know what all happened, but rest assured with Moses’ military training and conviction, this was pretty impressive. (I don’t think he killed any of them though)

But once again, he was misunderstood. The women evidently just left after Moses protected them and did their chores for them. They didn’t know why he would do such a thing.

Moses was convinced that justice was worth fighting for. He was convinced that he should stand up for those without a voice. Other convictions are part of his story, but this conviction was one that angled Moses toward the role of intercessor that God had laid out all along.

You see, if Moses was not genuinely convicted about justice in this way, he would have given up, chosen something different all together. Do you have any convictions like that? Has God placed something on your heart that you are passionate about? I know some of you have convictions about taking care of widows and homebound. Others of you have convictions about ensuring that our young people are taught the things of God.

Our convictions, as Christians, as baptists, are what drive us to make hard decisions. Sometimes we are misunderstood, like Moses. Sometimes we are called names by those who don’t understand. Sometimes it means that we have to abandon worldly things to be at peace with the values God has instilled in us.

But this is part of growth- especially as a Christian. As the Holy Spirit works in us, we will find times where we must stand for our convictions, according to God’s Word. And, like Moses, when those convictions are realized, we too will be so passionate about them that we act upon them regardless of perception or recognition.

In our growth, we must wrestle with our identity, realize our convictions, and finally, the last milestone we see in Moses first 80 years:

Learning Humility (18-22)

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Moses ended up in Midian- The Midianites were distant relatives who, as descendants of Abraham, likely had a rough understanding of the one True God. Moses left everything he’d ever known and found himself with no money, no family or friends, and perhaps no hope.

Even after helping out the lady shepherds, he must have been pondering his whole life. What now? What good is his education? What good is his heritage?

Well, as it goes, Jethro regarded Moses actions on behalf of his daughters and sent them back to invite Moses for dinner. He at least wanted to say thank you, and with 7 daughters, surely thought there might be potential in such a man who would act so courageously and selflessly.

Now, dad’s back me up, men want their daughters to find husbands with Godly convictions.We don’t want our daughters to marry some bum who has no conviction- maybe he’s lazy and won’t work, maybe he will be abusive or unfaithful… Moses was not one of those guys.

Well, dinner led to Moses being invited to come and live with the Midian priest’s family. You might think back to Jacob’s arrangement with Lamech- he agreed to work for a period of time in order to marry Zipporah.

Now think with me: Moses had come from the palace in Egypt- all the fancy clothes, jewels, etc. He had every kind of food and comfort he could want. He had his own servants who attended him, but now- now, he is living in a most humble dwelling and serving in the lowly role of shepherd.

God took him from the palace to the pasture to teach him to walk in humility for when God chose to deliver the Israelites, it would be because of God’s great power, not Moses’.

Numbers 12:3 NASB95

3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.)

This humility was part of his growth. In order for God to use Him, he needed to be wholly dependent upon God.

Folks, I want you to hear me here: God uses people to accomplish His plan. But he doesn’t use people because they have some great skill or strength; He uses them because they are humble and weak. It is in our weakness that God’s strength is made known.

Was it not the meek shepherd boy David that God used to rule over Israel?

Was it not the meek and humble Gideon whom God used to overthrow the enemy army?

Was it not the meek Mary who God would use to bring Jesus into the world?

Was it not the meek disciples whom God would deliver the Gospel message to the world?

Matthew 5:5 (NASB95)

5 “Blessed are the gentle (humble), for they shall inherit the earth.

An old professor once told me that God uses all kinds of people. But, there was actually one type of person that God tends to use more often. Do you know what kind of person that is? It’s one who is humbly dependent upon the Lord.

As John the Baptist declared, “I must decrease, and He must increase.”

Do you want to be used by God? Do you want to see God work in your life and through your life? If we will walk in humility, God will use us to grow His kingdom. If we will surrender ourselves to the Lordship of Christ, He will do great things through us, just as He did with Moses.

God used these 80 years to make Moses usable- He wants to do the same in your life.

Will you answer His call to GROW today?

[PRAY]

Discuss: How would you describe yourself? How much of who you are depends of Christ?

Discuss: Where do you feel you must take a stand? What drives that?

Discuss: Why is humility so elusive? How do we make ourselves usable for God?