God’s Deliverance in Desperate Times

Sermon Title: God’s Deliverance in Desperate Times

Text: Exodus 2:1-22 Theme: God sovereignly works through human weakness and desperate circumstances to deliver His people, pointing to the ultimate deliverance through Jesus Christ. Need Addressed: The congregation’s struggles with fear, uncertainty, and feelings of abandonment in difficult times. Purpose: To encourage believers to trust in God’s providential care and to see their trials as part of His redemptive plan, fulfilled in Christ.

Exodus 2:1–22 NKJV

And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank. And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him. Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it. And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?” And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother. Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.” Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why are you striking your companion?” Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” So Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!” When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. And they came and drew water, and they filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. Then the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. When they came to Reuel their father, he said, “How is it that you have come so soon today?” And they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he also drew enough water for us and watered the flock.” So he said to his daughters, “And where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.” Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses. And she bore him a son. He called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.”

Introduction

· Hook: The Robertson Family’s Miraculous Rescue at Sea

In 1971, the Robertson family—Dougal and Lyn, along with their four children—faced a seemingly hopeless situation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Seeking adventure, they had sold their farm in England to sail around the world on their yacht, Lucette. After over a year at sea, disaster struck 200 miles from the Galápagos Islands when a pod of killer whales attacked their boat, smashing the hull with sledgehammer-like blows. The yacht began to sink rapidly, and Dougal shouted, “Abandon ship!” Their eldest son, Douglas, later recalled the terror of being surrounded by killer whales in the water, trying to patch a hole in their inflatable lifeboat, thinking, “I’m going to die.” With no land in sight and only a small fiberglass dinghy and a leaky raft, the family was stranded in the vast ocean, 2,700 miles from their intended destination. They had limited food, a few days’ worth of water, and no immediate hope of rescue.

For 38 days, the Robertsons endured unimaginable hardships. They collected rainwater, caught and ate sea turtles, and battled sores from constant exposure to seawater. Dougal, the father, initially believed they could never survive the journey to safety. Yet, their resolve and resourcefulness kept them alive. On the 38th day, when all seemed lost, a Japanese fishing trawler spotted their tiny raft. The crew, astonished to find survivors in such a remote part of the ocean, rescued the family and brought them to safety. Douglas later reflected, “We were sustained by a power greater than our own.” Their survival, against all odds, points to God’s providence, working through unexpected allies in a desperate moment, much like He preserved Moses in the Nile.

Connection to Text: Just as the Robertson family faced a watery grave but were miraculously saved, in Exodus 2:1-22, Moses’ mother placed her infant son in a basket in the Nile, trusting God in a hopeless situation under Pharaoh’s decree. God’s providence guided Moses to safety through Pharaoh’s daughter, an unlikely rescuer, just as He brought a Japanese trawler to the Robertsons. These stories remind us that God often works in our darkest moments, using unexpected means to deliver His people.

 The Robertsons’ rescue and Moses’ preservation both point to Jesus, who faced the ultimate threat of death but was raised by God’s power, becoming the Deliverer who saves us from the hopelessness of sin. In our desperate times, God’s hand is at work, leading us to salvation through Christ.

Transition: Let’s explore three key movements in Exodus 2:1-22 that reveal God’s sovereign deliverance and how they point to Christ.

I. God Preserves His Deliverer  (Exodus 2:1-10)

 Sermon Title: God’s Deliverance in Desperate Times

Text: Exodus 2:1-22 Theme: God sovereignly works through human weakness and desperate circumstances to deliver His people, pointing to the ultimate deliverance through Jesus Christ. Need Addressed: The congregation’s struggles with fear, uncertainty, and feelings of abandonment in difficult times. Purpose: To encourage believers to trust in God’s providential care and to see their trials as part of His redemptive plan, fulfilled in Christ.

Introduction

· Hook: In 1971, the Robertson family faced a hopeless situation in the Pacific Ocean when killer whales sank their yacht, Lucette. Stranded 200 miles from the Galápagos with dwindling supplies, they survived 38 days in a leaky raft. Just when all seemed lost, a Japanese fishing trawler spotted them, rescuing them against all odds. Douglas Robertson later said, “We were sustained by a power greater than our own.” This story shows how God often works in desperate moments.

· Connection to Text: In Exodus 2:1-22, God’s people are enslaved in Egypt, facing Pharaoh’s decree to kill Hebrew boys. Yet, God works through a frail baby, a brave mother, and a foreign priest to preserve His plan of deliverance, just as He sustained the Robertsons.

· Connection to Christ: This passage foreshadows Jesus, the ultimate deliverer, preserved from danger to save His people, showing God’s power over every hopeless situation.

· Transition: Let’s explore three movements in Exodus 2:1-22 that reveal God’s sovereign deliverance, apply them to our lives, and see how they point to Christ.

I. God Preserves His Deliverer Through Human Faithfulness (Exodus 2:1-10)

· A.  Birth of the Deliverer 1-4

Exodus 2:1–4 NKJV

And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank. And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.

Context: The Hebrews are enslaved in Egypt, and Pharaoh orders all Hebrew male infants to be thrown into the Nile (Ex. 1:22). This sets a backdrop of oppression and genocide.

Grammar and Structure:

The narrative focuses on the actions of Moses’ parents (v. 1-2)

Exodus 2:1-2

They hid Moses.

Moses’ parents risked their lives to hide her son and craft an ark, trusting God over Pharaoh.

This is an example of obeying God’s authority over human authorities

Though ordered to kill their son by Pharoah, they obeyed God and preserved life.

We see his mother's initiative:

v. 2 She hid him as long as they could.

v. 3 she placed him in an ark

Exodus 2:3 NKJV

But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank.

In both hiding and placing him, we see God using human agency under divine providence.

The phrase “ark” (tevah, v. 3) is the same word used for Noah’s ark, symbolizing divine protection.

She put Moses in the Nile strategically.

She knew where the royals bathed.

She had hope that something good could come of it.

What a display of faith

She even likely prompted Moses’ sister’s action:

Exodus 2:4 NKJV

And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.

His sister stood by to see what would happen

Moses, though cast out on the water and into God’s keeping, had loving eyes watching over him on Earth

B. Deliverance from the Nile   

Historical Setting: Egyptian culture revered the Nile, making Pharaoh’s decree both practical (using the river to dispose of infants) and symbolic (asserting power over life). Moses’ mother’s act of placing him in a basket among the reeds subverts Pharaoh’s command while trusting God.

Exodus 2:5–10 NKJV

Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it. And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?” And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother. Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

Pharaoh’s Daughter

MacArthur Study Bible NASB (Commentary) Identified possibly as Hatshepsut or another princess; in either case a princess whom God providentially used to override Pharaoh’s death decree and protect the life of His chosen leader for the Israelites.

God’s providence guided the basket to Pharaoh’s daughter, turning the Nile into a means of salvation.

She adopted him as her own son.

This afforded Moses special privileges.

He grew up as a noble in the house of the Pharaoh.

Perhaps even treated as a prince.

Egyptian law would allow for this and even him to ascend the throne in certain circumstances.

Moses’ Sister

She stood by, and then came to Pharaoh's daughter.

V. 7, she says, “I know a nurse!”

God worked in His providence to not only save Moses, but allow him to go home for his early childhood.

In Pharoah’s court

MacArthur Study Bible NASB (Commentary) The formal education in the court of that time meant that Moses would have learned reading, writing, arithmetic, and perhaps one or more of the languages of Canaan. He would also have participated in various outdoor sports, e.g., archery and horseback riding, two favorites of the 18th Dynasty court.

Moses’ preservation foreshadows God’s plan to deliver His people through a mediator.

C. Illustration:

· A single mother in a war-torn country hides her son from soldiers rounding up boys. Praying, she places him in a safe spot, trusting God. A kind stranger finds him and provides safety. Her small act of faith becomes part of a larger story, just as Moses’ mother’s faith preserved Israel’s deliverer.

D. Application:

We all have times of desperation. Storms of life blow in and wreck things. We face struggles and trials.

Like Moses’ family we need to keep faith!

Take a step of faith in your desperate situation.

Identify one area where fear or uncertainty holds you back (e.g., a financial struggle, a strained relationship).

This week, take a small, obedient action—pray boldly, seek godly counsel, or act in trust—as Moses’ mother did, and ask God to work through it.

We are to walk in faith not sight.

When we are in the hardest times, faith may be all we have!

E. Connection to Christ:

Moses’ preservation in the Nile points to Jesus,

He was preserved from Herod’s decree (Matt. 2:13-18). Just as Moses was saved through a humble ark, Jesus, born in a manger, became the ultimate Deliverer, overcoming every evil power to save us from sin.

II. God Prepares His Deliverer (Exodus 2:11-15 )

Exodus 2:11–15 NKJV

Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why are you striking your companion?” Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” So Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!” When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.

A. Exegetical Insight

Context: Like we saw in ch 1, the author fasts forwards. We don’t see details of Moses’ life in the court. Instead, we fast forward to see Moses identify with his Hebrew people (v. 11). His killing of an Egyptian shows zeal for justice but impulsiveness.

Grammar and Structure:

Notice the verbs:

He saw ( wayyar “he saw,” v. 11)

Exodus 2:11 NKJV

Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.

Moses, knowing his Hebrew identity, saw the injustice of their mistreatment

He came upon an Egyptian beating a Hebrew

He struck (wayyakh “he struck,” v. 12)

Exodus 2:12 NKJV

So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

These indicate his emotional response.

He saw injustice and acted upon it.

He acted on impulse and killed the Egyptian.

Moses’ zeal was God-given, but his impulsive action showed unreadiness to lead.

He Fled (wayyivrakh, v. 15)

Exodus 2:14 NKJV

Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” So Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!”

Exodus 2:15 NKJV

When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.

Since it was known among the Hebrews it would surely be known by Egyptians and Moses would face Pharaoh's wrath.

He was rejected by them, in spite of his taking of a chance to act.

His flight to Midian was a humbling exile, refining him for future leadership.

This flight marks God’s redirection through failure.

Moses was God’s chosen deliverer, but this was not the right time nor the right method of deliverance.

His flight to Midian was a humbling exile, refining him for future leadership.

Historical Setting: Moses’ dual identity creates tension. His flawed attempt at deliverance leads to rejection and exile, preparing him for God’s call.

He had to go through more training in Midian.

Theological Point: God uses failure and exile to humble and prepare His chosen deliverer.

God uses our failures and seasons of exile to shape us for His redemptive work.

C. Illustration:

A young man dreams of starting a ministry for the homeless but oversteps, alienating those he aims to help. Feeling like a failure, he moves to a small town. There, through quiet reflection and small acts of service, he learns humility, preparing for greater impact. Moses’ exile in Midian served a similar purpose.

D. Point of Application:

Have you had to go through a season in the wilderness?

Reflect on a past failure or wilderness season.

This week, think on or even journal about a time you felt sidelined or failed.

Ask God to show you how He used it to shape you, and pray for faith to trust His timing for your next step, as He prepared Moses in Midian.

E. Connection to Christ:

Never forget, Jesus faced rejection and exile-like experiences, such as His wilderness temptation (Matt. 4:1-11) and rejection by His people (John 1:11).

These prepared Him for His ultimate deliverance on the cross, fulfilling God’s plan to save us.

Temporary setbacks are not the final word! God gets the final word!

III. God Provides for His Deliverer  (Exodus 2:16-22)

A. Exegetical Insight

Historical Setting:

Midianites, descendants of Abraham and Keturah, had some knowledge of God. Jethro, a priest, becomes an unexpected ally, giving Moses a home. He surely shared wisdom with Moses as the years went by and even met him on the way out of Egypt and offered insight in leading the newborn nation.

This was God’s school of leadership development

Context: In Midian, Moses defends Jethro’s daughters from shepherds, showing restrained justice.

Exodus 2:16–20 NKJV

Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. And they came and drew water, and they filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. Then the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. When they came to Reuel their father, he said, “How is it that you have come so soon today?” And they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he also drew enough water for us and watered the flock.” So he said to his daughters, “And where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.”

Moses once again displays a strong sense of justice

He stood up for the oppressed

He righted a wrong

Since this was God’s plan and timing, it turned out differently than his failed attampt in Egypt.

Moses’ kindness at the well led to integration into Jethro’s family, showing God’s care.

Exodus 2:21–22 NKJV

Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses. And she bore him a son. He called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.”

Zipporah and Gershom provided companionship and legacy, grounding Moses.

Jethro’s role foreshadows Gentile inclusion in God’s plan, fulfilled in Christ.

Theological Point: God provides for His servants through unexpected people and places, weaving them into His redemptive plan.

He surrounds us with provision and community, even in unfamiliar places, to sustain His mission.

C. Illustration:

A college student moves to a new city, feeling lonely. At church, a family invites her to dinner, becoming her support system and helping her grow in faith. Similarly, God provided Moses with a community in Midian to sustain his calling.

D. Point of Application:

Seek or thank an unexpected ally God has provided.

This week, identify someone who has supported you unexpectedly (e.g., a coworker, neighbor, or church member).

Reach out to thank them or build that relationship, trusting God’s provision through them, as He provided for Moses through Jethro.

Perhaps God may use you to be there for someone else as well.

E. Connection to Christ:

Jesus, the ultimate sojourner, found provision through unlikely allies like the Samaritan woman (John 4) and Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:2-3).

Conclusion

· Summary: Exodus 2:1-22 shows God’s sovereign hand in preserving, preparing, and providing for Moses in desperate times, pointing to Jesus, the greater Deliverer.

· Application Recap: Take a step of faith in your struggles, reflect on how God uses your wilderness seasons, and thank those He provides as allies.

Your story is part of His redemptive plan.

Call to Action: This week, implement one of the applications: act in faith, journal about a past trial, or connect with an ally. Share your story with someone to encourage them.

Closing Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for preserving, preparing, and providing for us in desperate times. Help us trust You and act in faith, seeing Jesus as our Deliverer. Amen.

Citation

Sermon Outline: Grok (AI Assistant). “Sermon Outline: God’s Deliverance in Desperate Times, Based on Exodus 2:1-22.” Prepared for Anonymous User, May 2, 2025. Digital communication, xAI.

Hook Story Source: Bale, Karen. “Real-Life Castaway: The Family Who Survived 38 Days Lost at Sea After Whale Attack.” Mirror Online, May 4, 2016. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/real-life-castaway-family-who-7890547.