Exodus 2:11-25 - And God Remembered His Covenant
Notes
Transcript
The Word Read
The Word Read
Please remain standing for the reading of the Holy Scripture. Hear the Word of the Lord from Exodus 2:22-25
22 She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.”
23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.
Behold, brothers and sisters, this is Word of the Lord. Please be seated.
Exordium
Exordium
Dear Church,
I invite you to open Holy Scripture to Exodus 2:11-15 this morning. I’ve loved studying and preaching the book of Exodus over the past few weeks. One of the great things about Exodus is how many different literature genres there are in the book. There is narrative, miracles, Law, treaty language, and even holy war imagery. Truly, the book will take your breath away if you allow the Spirit to work on your heart as you actively listen to the text.
Over the past few weeks of studying different portions of Exodus, I’ve been continually reminded of God’s faithfulness to His people. God remains faithful to Abraham’s offspring. This is a great promise we can claim as well because those who are in Christ are the true offspring of Abraham (Galatians 3:29) - God’s covenantal faithfulness applies to us. He is faithful to us even when we are unfaithful to Him.
Our passage this morning takes us on a journey. Moses murdered an Egyptian, is forced to leave Egypt, took refuge in Midian, and God remained faithful to the covenant He made with the patriarchs. It is significantly important to remember that the people of Israel and Moses are not the central figures in the book of Exodus. God is the main figure in the book of Exodus.
The sermon title this morning is, “And God Remembered His Covenant.” The sermon will have three portions: 1) Exodus 2:11-15 - Murder, 2) Exodus 2:16-22 - Midian, and 3) Exodus 2:23-25 - God’s Covenantal Faithfulness. So far, the people of Israel have done nothing to deserve His grace. They have done nothing worthy of being called His people. Yet, God remained faithful to the covenant He made with Abraham, and He is about to act on their behalf for His glory.
Exodus 2:11-15 - Murder
Exodus 2:11-15 - Murder
11 One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. 12 He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” 14 He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well.
There are approximately 37 years between Exodus 2:10 and Exodus 2:11. We jump from Moses’s adoption to Moses as a grown man. Stephen, in Acts 7:22 gives further insight into Moses’s life, albeit small details.
22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.
We learn Moses was thoroughly educated by the Egyptians, a very secular system. However, the Egyptian education would have been a world-class education. We don’t know much about Moses’s life before he turned 40, but we do know he was highly educated.
One day during the time of oppression, Moses sees an Egyptian taskmaster beating a Hebrew and Moses is moved to compassion. Moses is grieved by what he saw and has sympathy for one of his own people or his own brothers. Notice two truths about Moses in this verse: 1) He has compassion for his brothers under oppression, and 2) he identified with the Hebrew, not the Egyptian. You can already see God forming the heart of Moses for the people God will redeem. Moses’s grief and sympathy, unfortunately, lead him to kill this Egyptian taskmaster. He hides the Egyptian in the sand assuming that no one saw what had occurred. The Egyptian has wounded a brother, Moses murders.
The next day, Moses saw two Hebrews struggling with one another. The wording reveals that the two were physically fighting. Moses, says to the one in the wrong, or the guilty man, “Why did you hit your fellow brother?” The guilty man responds, “who has made you chief/prince and ruler over us? Do you plan to kill me just like you killed that Egyptian?” It’s at this moment Moses realizes his actions were not a secret. He murdered an Egyptian and hid him with the hope that no one saw. However, he quickly learns his actions were known, and he becomes fearful. Pharaoh becomes aware of Moses’s actions and seeks to kill Moses. Moses runs, comes to the land of Midian, and sits down at a well. Moses is now a fugitive who has escaped his country and his king, and now lives as an alien in a foreign land.
We can look at this situation and immediately understand that Moses is in the wrong. Murder is sinful Moses. However, there might be some that would say that Moses was in the right. He was protecting a fellow brother. He watched for years as the Egyptians oppressed and killed his people. Moses did nothing wrong. However, there is also something deeper as to why Moses was in the wrong. Genesis 15:13-14 gives us the answer.
13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
The Lord promised to Abraham that his descendants would be afflicted for 400 years. However, God would issue judgment upon the nation that afflicted them. Moses assumes the role that the Lord stated is specifically for Him. God will afflict Egypt because they’ve afflicted His people. Moses, in killing this Egyptian, takes judgment into his own hands. He is wrong for murder, and he is wrong to assume the place of the Lord in issuing judgment for affliction. Vengeance is mine says the Lord.
Yet, we come back to Moses’s compassion for his brothers. He had compassion for his fellow brothers. We’ve discussed that Moses is a type of the Christ who is to come. Moses had compassion for his fellow brothers, and Jesus has compassion for His fellow brothers. As the great theologian Stephen Charnock once wrote, “He was a man of sorrows, that He might be a man of compassions.” BB Warfield stated that the emotion that was most attributed to Jesus was compassion. Hebrews 2:17-18:
17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Jesus was a man of compassion while on earth which we clearly see in the Gospels. However, a question we face today is this - is Jesus still compassionate towards us? Does He show me compassion, even though I constantly fail? We know our sinful thoughts, actions, and words. We know the transgressions that we’ve committed today already. Don’t we sometimes wonder if Jesus is still compassionate towards us today, just as He was to those we see Him interact with in the Gospels? Hebrews 4:15 gives us the answer:
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
The answer is a resounding YES! He is still compassionate sympathizing with our weaknesses. Moses had compassion for his fellow brothers, and Jesus has compassion for us, His fellow brothers and sisters. We do not have to doubt whether or not Jesus is compassionate towards us. Yes, He certainly displays His compassion towards me and you.
Exodus 2:16-22 - Midian
Exodus 2:16-22 - Midian
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and watered their flock. 18 When they came home to their father Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come home so soon today?” 19 They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 He said to his daughters, “Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.” 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah. 22 She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.”
Moses is in the land of Midian, which is believed to be the northern part of modern day Saudi Arabia. The Midianites were descendants of Abraham through Keturah (Genesis 25:1-2). While in this foreign land a group of seven women came to the well to get water for their father’s flock. However, shepherds came forcibly drove them away. Moses was there and saved them, and also watered their flock. The seven daughters return home, apparently quicker than normal. Reuel, their father, asks why they’ve returned home earlier than normal. The daughters tell their father about Moses and how he delivered them. Reuel, obviously a man of hospitality, wonders where Moses is and why they abandoned him at the well. Moses is invited to their home where he takes up residence and marries Zipporah. Together they have a son, and Moses names the child Gershom which means “alien there.”
As we read this narrative we might think, “Well, this story is progressing. Moses needed to flee Egypt and has found a home in the land of Midian. He settles down. He marries and begins a family. The Lord is good to Moses.” Those might be true thoughts, but there are significant parallels between this passage and the previous passage. Think back to just a few moments ago. Moses, albeit wrongly, attempts to bring deliverance to his own people. What happens? They reject him. “Who made you a prince and ruler over us?” They do not accept him or his help. The people have rejected him.
What is the response of the Midianites when Moses delivers the priests seven daughters? Gratitude and hospitality. They are thankful he delivered them. They bring them into their own home. They make a meal for him. Eventually, he ends up residing with them. They treasured his intervention and show him incredible gratitude.
Unfortunately, this is the same type of response the people of Israel show Jesus when He was delivered to Pilate.
6 Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. 7 And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. 8 And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. 9 And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. 12 And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” 13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” 14 And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” 15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
On the day of Pentecost, Peter stands before the multitude in Jerusalem. He preaches these words to the men of Judea and those who dwell in Jerusalem.
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
The people of Israel rejected Moses in Exodus 2, and they rejected Jesus. This rejection continued throughout the time of the New Testament. In Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas arrive in Antioch and preach the Gospel in the synagogue on the Sabbath Day. They, at first, warmly received and encouraged to return the next Sabbath Day to once again preach. However, the Jewish leaders and their followers were jealous. They rile up the city and contradict what Paul spoke. Paul and Barnabas say these words in response:
46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,
“ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.
The people of Israel reject the Gospel, the good news of God, but the Gentiles rejoice and believe. As their forefathers had rejected Moses, so they have rejected Jesus. As the Midianites gladly recieved Moses, so the Gentiles gladly receive Christ Jesus.
Yet, maybe today you sit here like the people of Israel. Have you gladly received Jesus like the Midianites received Moses? Have you seen your depravity in light of a holy Creator? Have you repented of sin calling out upon the name of Jesus to save you? In the words of Peter on Pentecost, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” There is a door that is open for you, but you cannot come through this door standing. You come through the door in humility, bowing before a righteous God repenting of your sin. He is still a God who saves!
Exodus 2:23-25 - God’s Covenantal Faithfulness
Exodus 2:23-25 - God’s Covenantal Faithfulness
23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.
The scene abruptly shifts from Midian back to Egypt. The Pharaoh that sought to kill Moses has died. However, the oppression of the people of Israel has not ceased. One might hope that a new leader would lead to less oppression, but it does not. The people cry out to be rescued from their slavery and their prayer goes up to God.
Now look with me at Exodus 2:24-25. See what those verses say. 1) God hears their groaning, 2) God remembers His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and 3) God saw the people of Israel, and God knew. First, God heard the groaning and suffering of the people of Israel. God is not indifferent to His people’s cries and prayers. Yes, God is certainly transcendent, but He is not impersonal. He cares for His children. This is true in this situation and this is true for us as well. As James 4:8 states:
8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
God draws near to those who draw near to Him. Thanks be to God that in Christ Jesus we can draw near to the eternal God.
Second, God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The word for remember is not used here in the same sense we use it. We usually use the word “remember” to recall something. I remember where I put my keys. Oh yes, I remember that from years ago! We are reminded of information we forgot. This is not the case with the Lord. He did not forgot the covenant He made with the patriarchs. He was not ruling in heaven, heard the groaning of the people, and thought, “Oh right! I remember that I have a covenant with these people. Thanks for reminding me!” This is not the case at all. The wording here reveals God is going to act. God remembering is not a recollection, but about the application of the covenant made with the patriarchs. God will deliver, and He is going to act.
As I was thinking through this truth I couldn’t help but think of Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia. Aslan is obviously the major character in the storyline, but he is not always the primary character in the scenes. However, you know that Aslan is somewhere. You constantly anticipate his arrival because you know once he decides to act, nothing will deter him or stop his plan. God is determined to act on behalf of His people. Deliverance is near for the people of Israel.
Third, God saw the people of Israel and God knew. This seems like a grammatical conundrum. What does it mean that God knew? God knew what exactly? God saw the people of Israel means He has sympathy for them. God knew means God had compassion for them or was concerned for them. The covenant people of God had no reason to fear that God had left them on their own. He is going to act soon and it will be motivated by His sympathy and concern.
Do you know what is just as amazing as this truth? The fact that God did this for me and for you. We sat under the tremendous power of sin unable to reach out to God. We were spiritually dead. Yet, the Holy Spirit regenerated our hearts causing us to see our depravity and our great need for Christ. We cried out to God under the slavery of sin, the Lord heard our groaning and saw our sad state, and in His compassion He saved us by the precious blood of Christ.
The Lord in compassion for His people sent the Son to be the Mediator for us. Nothing we could have offered to the Lord would suffice to earn our salvation. Salvation is not by works. We were just like the people of Israel. There was a new king who arose in Egypt. You could imagine that the Israelites thought, “maybe this Pharaoh will undo the oppression.” No, he did not. He continued enforcing the injustices of the previous Pharaoh. They had no hope as they sat under a new ruler. Likewise, we had no hope as we sat under the master of sin.
This is why I’ve said that we’ll see your story in the book of Exodus. You’ll see the bondage of the Egyptians and think about how you were once held under the bondage of sin which lead to guilt, shame, and condemnation. Yet, you’ll see Moses as a type of the Christ who is to come and be thankful Christ delivered you from the pangs of death.
Sitting behind these verses are two important truths about God - 1) He is compassionate and 2) He is God who keeps His covenant with His people. A few weeks ago, right before we began our evening family worship, one child asked, "Does God hate Satan? If God is love, then can He hate Satan?" Needless to say, what I had planned for family worship was discarded, and we worked through this question using Scripture. Eventually our conversation went beyond Satan to humanity. Our conversations centered on Psalm 5:5 (God hates all evildoers) and Romans 2:4 (God's kindness leads people to repentance). We talked through the truths of these two verses - 1) God hates the wicked, and 2) He shows the wicked kindness so they would be led to repent of sin and call upon Christ to save them. He showed us, even when we were children of wrath rebelling against Him, kindness which led us to repentance and to faith in Christ Jesus. God showed us compassion when we certainly didn’t deserve it, and praise God this compassion continues to us today. We have covenant with God through Christ Jesus. Our God is a covenant keeping God who will never break this covenant with us.
Yet, how many us have struggled or will struggle with our assurance of salvation. We’ve questioned, or are questioning, whether we are truly saved. The great, late theologian RC Sproul would meet with people that were struggling with their assurance. He’d ask them these three questions:
Do you love the biblical Jesus perfectly?
Well, do you love Him as much as you ought to love Him?
Do you love Him at all? Do you know in your heart whether you have any genuine affection for the biblical Jesus?
Only the Holy Spirit can cause us to love the biblical Jesus. If we have any love, and genuine affection in our hearts for the biblical Jesus this proves our salvation. Why? Humanity is naturally set against God. We were conceived in sin and we are His enemies. However, it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that we are caused to love the biblical Jesus. This love for the biblical Jesus, which is created by God Himself, only comes to those who are in covenant with Him. If we have any love for the biblical Jesus, we can be assured it comes from God. Our God keeps covenant with those who are His. He kept covenant with the people of Israel and He keeps it with us.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Our passage ends with on a cliff-hanger - the Lord is about to act. He will deliver His people from their oppressive bondage. However, Moses is in the land of Midian and his people have rejected him. He’s living a pretty good life, but all of that is about to change. A deliverer is on his way. God has remembered the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Nothing will stop His plan. Nothing will deter him. A holy war is just on the horizon.
Yet, as we wait for all this to unfold, we must remember that our God is a compassionate God to His children. He was thousands of years about when He saw the oppression of His people. They cried out to Him and He heard them. Today, millions of people cry out to the Lord each year as they sit under the bondage of sin. In His kindness, He has led wicked sinners to see Christ. We are those people. We can rejoice that our God is full of compassion and He never breaks covenant with us.
