Be Mine

Exodus 6:1-9

Intro:

Valentine’s Day is upon us once again and the chocolate hearts, flowers, and sweet tarts are flying off the shelves. Of course this tradition has a much different history than what we celebrate today. In the late second century, there was a Roman Emperor named Claudius the third, aka Claudius the Cruel. Now I know that some reminisce over the good old days, when men were men and women were women, but when I asked my daughter about her thoughts of arranged marriages she wanted no part of it. I even explained to her that it is just the way things used to be done and we were trying to get back to our roots. The horror in her eyes told me all I needed to know, the past is in the past. Anyway, Claudius was determined to bring the Roman empire to greatness, something that had been falling apart since the Crucifixion of Christ, and he had in his mind that soldiers not wanting to leave their wives was the cause of their weakness. Therefore, he banned marriage for all soldiers. Now, there are two ways to view this, we could render unto Cesar that which is his and respect his decree, or we could do what Valentine the Priest did. In secret, he preformed weddings for the soldiers in defiance of the emperor. One could image that the Emperor was a little more than miffed over this and order the execution of Valentine, who was imprisoned while he waited for it to be carried out. Much like other Disciples, Apostles, and Priests of the day, Valentine wrote letters expressing the love he had for the people, for the Lord, and his desire for them to be joined under the eyes of God in Holy Matrimony. One of these letters were written to the daughter of one of the guards. The recipients told others they had “recieved a valentine”. On Feb 14, 278 AD, Saint Valentine was beaten with clubs and beheaded because he chose to lead with love, despite of the risks.

Today, we are going to be exploring a familiar story from the book of Exodus and I want us to search for alternative perspectives to the text, perhaps something that we may otherwise look over. I want us to look for the love letter that God wrote us with the ink and quill of plagues, problems, and personalities.

Turn with me to God’s Promise of Deliverance as we begin our message today which come from Exodus 6:1–9

English Standard Version Chapter 6

6 But the LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

2 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 the LORD I did not make myself known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. 6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 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.’ ” 9 Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.

Let us pray

To give us a little bit of back-story here, understand that God has revealed himself to Moses, chosen him for the purpose of freeing the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, and appointed Aaron to assist.

Throughout the chapter just before, Moses and Aaron approach Pharoah and pass the message of God, saying

English Standard Version Chapter 5

“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’ ”

To this Pharoah all but scoffs. Who is this Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? This is Pharaoh's first introduction to God and, rather than desire to know more and understand, he turns this request into an insult, taking it out on the people.

Now in verse 6, Moses reports back and say, we that didn’t go so well. Now not only are we not free but now our work load is doubled and punishment is guaranteed because we can’t accomplish the task before us. But God gives Moses a Valentine, He says, be mine. Here his Words.

Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. Remember that, because it is an important part of this message and I don’t want you to miss it.

To Moses, starting in verse 2, he says, I am the Lord, I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El Shaddai, which we translate to God Almighty, BUT, did you catch that....BUT by my name (an oath, a promise of reassurance, by way of and for the purposes of comfort) I did not make myself known to them. Hello new covenant preview. This is the foreshadowing of the Mosaic Covenant that will occur at Mount Sinai.

But it hasn’t happened yet. God says I am going to make a bond with you, establish a contract with you, but before I even do that, let me tell you what I am going to do. Mind you, He didn’t say if you, then I....No, He says I will, so you can.

Go back to verse 5, Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. Say therefore, to the people of Israel, I am the LORD, and

I WILL bring you out from under the burdens of Egyptians, and I WILL deliver you from slavery to them, and

I WILL REDEEM you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of JUDGEMENT

I will take you to be MY PEOPLE and I will be your God AND you shall know that I am the LORD your God.

I will take away the weight you are bound to and deliver you from it. How many people do we interact with that would love to hear how our God can deliver them from the bondage that seems unbreakable? Alcoholism, drug addictions, demonic influences, depression, anxiety, past abuses, you name it, there is someone out there chained to it with no hope of rescue, BUT GOD.

You know there is a difference between being set free and being healed? An addict who is past the physical addiction phase still struggles with the mental reliance, and even after that, the occasional trigger sends those old euphoric signals firing again to create a longing. We know the story, so it isn’t a spoiler alert to remind us that the Israelites after being rescued, at some points longed to be back under the whip of those task masters in impossible situations. So not only is God going to break them out of their prison but he is also about to restore their souls, as David tells us from

Psalm 23 He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.

Then he says, Be Mine and I will be Yours. Be MY PEOPLE and I will be Your God, and as that relationship develops, You will KNOW that I am the LORD your God. There are no strings attached to this. This is not a question of if you, then I will. If you pay me an hourly rate, I will be your employee and you will be my employer...no, in this case God is saying we are going to be married, we are going to be united, I am taking you as my own, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish, until I die for you and death draws us together.

God goes on in verse 8 with even more promises, I WILL bring you into the land that I sword to give Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I WILL give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord...but how do the people respond? Remember what they are going through, as we remember what people are going through now. God has wonderful promises for them, wonderful plans for them, but their spirits are broken. Verse 9 says, Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, BECAUSE of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.

Do you know that you can get into such a dark place in life that all the promises of light in the world can’t reach you? You feel hopeless, helpless, and completely overwhelmed. Well that was the Israelites. We like to judge them for their whining and complaining, but remember they had not been released, redeemed, restored or anything yet. They were in between beatings, cowering in darkness, doubting anything would ever end this 430 years of slavery. This was the only life they had ever known.

Now pushing past our text for today I want us to see two things that come from the first verse, the one I said to keep in the back of your mind. God says, NOW YOU SHALL SEE.

Chapter 1 opens up into the beginning of captivity and 400 years are contained in the first 6 chapters. The next 6 take about 40 days.

Egypt had created many gods for their worship. The god of the Nile, god of fertility, sun god, goddess of fertility, god of livestock, 5 different sun gods, moon god, sky goddess, sky and air god, god of healing, god of health, goddess of healing and health, and the Pharaoh himself whose bloodline was seen as a god.

Hapi - Nile, Osiris - fertility, Ra - sun, Heqet - fertility, Apis - livestock, Khepre - sun, Harakhte - sun, Aten - sun, Horus - sun, Atum - sun, Thoth - moon, Nut - sky, Shu - sky and air, Sekhmet - healing and health, Sunu - healing and health, Isis - healing and health

In chapter 7:14-24 God begins his demonstration to the Israelites. What is the goal here? God is letting his people see his patience and gentleness. Wait, the plagues are gentle? Yes. God could have simply wiped Egypt from the map in an instant and moved his people to the promise land in less than a day. Instead, he gave the Egyptian 40 days to repent. Pharaoh scoffed because he didn’t know who God was, and instead of instant justice, he is patient, allowing the exercise of free will.

While God is demonstrating his authority to the Israelites, he is giving the Pharaoh an opportunity. First, in 7:14 God turns the Nile to blood, effectively demonstrating their god bows to His commands. Moses tells Pharaoh, let my people go or the Nile will become blood, and it was so. Pharaoh says, I’ve seen this trick before, I’m not impressed. He hardened his heart to the truth God was revealing to him.

In the 25th verse, Moses says to Pharaoh, let my people go or there will be a plague of frogs swarming even into your bedrooms. Finally we start to see a glimmer of hope, Pharaoh agrees to release the people. When God draws the subjugation of Heqet to a close, we see Pharaoh go back on his pledge and again, harden his heart.

In verse 8, God sends gnats and lice to swarm the Egyptian priests, who think that their prayers to their gods will save them. Again Pharaoh say, “plead with your God” to stop this and again Pharaoh goes back on his word and hardens his heart.

Next God sent flies, in 8:20, a symbol of their god Uatchit, and this time separates His people from the Egyptians. Really driving the point home. Again, Pharaoh gives in, begs for mercy, receives it and takes back his promise, hardening his heart yet again.

In chapter 9 the same things happen. Cattle are diseased, man and animal receive boils and sores, and crops are destroyed by hail, and each time Pharaoh calls out for mercy, and God gives it. Each time, the Lord, who knows all things which will transpire, knows Pharaoh will not change and will continue to harden his own heart, each time He still relents to provide the opportunity to make the right choice.

Carrying on through the 10 chapter, the major Egyptian gods are rebuked, Isis and Re as the Lord brings locusts and blots out the sun. If nothing else had reached Pharaoh’s hardened heart, this was going to be his best chance, but no. He does the same thing, hardening his heart further.

You know, I’ve taught this scripture from the Israelite perspective of rescue, I’ve taught this from the plague perspective of idol worship, and now from Pharaoh’s perspective which is the reflection of reaching out to the lost. The one who, time and time again, calls out to God to rescue him from the consequences of his bad decisions, saying things like, God if you...then I....If you get me through this I’ll start going to church...if you pull me out o this I’ll never get into this situation again...IF YOU...THEN I… But God says I WILL... SO YOU CAN.

But there comes a time when His mercy ends, when time to change runs out as we see the Lord this time, binding Pharaohs decision by hardening his heart. Chapter 11, God tells Moses in what I would describe as a somber tone, “Yet one plague more.” See, we are each precious in the eyes of God, and I don’t believe Pharaoh was an exception. Just as the ones we meet and have hardened their hearts to the point they want to hear nothing we have to say. My prayer today is that we recognize that we may be the only thing standing between them and God saying, “yet one plague more”. As the first born died , Pharaoh was able to see his own mortality, deity stripped away, as his own child was counted among the slain, this time there were no options but the release of the Lord’s people.

The events of this scripture remind us of God’s love for us, to chase us down and pursue us, even before we agree to his terms. But if we do, Galatians 3:28 tells us, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” It also reminds us to chase after those who are not yet His, telling the Pharaohs of this world, look out for your small g gods; John 4:22 “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.”

We are charged to bring the good news, that God wants to make us HIS, that he has completed the work for His covenant through the sacrifice of His Son on the cross, that whoever believes in Him shall be saved and have eternal life in Heaven. This is the Valentine we are tasked with delivering, regardless of obstacles or personalities, handicaps or hangups. There is good news in Christ. To Quote C.S Lewis, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy Will be done’, and those to whom God says, ‘Thy will be done’”

Matthew 7:13–14 ““Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” and our time on this planet should be spend putting out traffic cones, wearing road guard vests, waving big flashing “wrong way” signs to everyone headed to the wide gate.

Let’s close in prayer