Exodus 2x15-25 - When Life Does Not Make Sence
Thomas S. Myers
When Life Doesn't Make Sense
Exodus 2:15-25
At time's life does not make any sense. Many times there is no explanation, no under- standing as to why this crisis or why that crisis. But at times, God pulls back the curtains of his sovereign plan, and He allows us to see why we are in a crisis. Such is the case as we look at the life of Moses. Moses once lived in a palace, but now he lives in a desert. Moses once was a ruler and a leader of men, but now he is a leader and ruler of sheep. He has no idea that God was preparing him for an even greater ministry. We are going to pull back the curtains of heaven, and we are going to see how God used Moses' desert experience as preparation for incredible service. I do not know why you may be going through a crisis, but for Moses it was preparation for being used greatly by God.
Alan Redpath while pastor of Moody Memorial Church said, "When God wants to do an impossible task, he takes an impossible person and crushes them." Everything I have to say today as it relates to the life of Moses has to do with that statement. Many of us are impossible kinds of people. And until we are divinely crushed, until we are broken to the place of submission of God's will, God will not use us in that particular manner for which he has called us.
A. W. Tozer put it another way, "It is doubtful that God can use anyone greatly until He has hurt them deeply." There are times when God has allowed deep and severe trials. And
1when you are in those trials you will wonder
about the justice of God. There will be times when God will kick the crutches out from under you. There will be times when God will take
away your comforts and removes your rights. And you will wonder why? It may be that in God's great plan He wants to use you in a great way. In the life of Moses that is exactly God's intention. God is going to crush Moses. Today we will experience the brokenness of being crushed. When you are divinely crushed, when you are in the desert, you will learn at least 3 things.
FIRST -- YOU WILL LEARN THE POSITION OF A ___________.
Look at: Exodus 2:15-17
Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well. 16 Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father's flock. 17 Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock. (NIV)
Can you get the picture of what is going on in Exodus 2:15-17? Moses is siting by a well, and 7 young ladies approach the well, attempting to water their sheep. But before they can provide the needed water, they are driven away. The Hebrew words "DROVE THEM AWAY" is one very intensive Hebrew verb. It means to use excessive force. So Moses comes to their rescue and
forces the shepherds away and even waters their flock. Moses has no idea who the ladies are. But he knows what it is like to lose everything. When you are divinely crushed, it is amazing how it will pull your spirit towards others who are in need. I have seen it in those who have experienced cancer, the loss of a loved one, or those who have been severely injured. Those who have gone through the fire have an incredible compassion and desire to help those who are in affliction. God has equipped them to minister to you.
Would you look at: 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. (NIV)
Notice from verse 4, that the comfort you receive when you are in the desert. God has opened the door for you to apply your comfort to others. It is remarkable what a shepherd's heart God can give people who have suffered. Moses has no idea who these 7 young ladies are. But he has an incredible compassion for them. I guarantee you that when you are crushed, you will learn to be sensitive to the pain of others. You will understand what it means to be taken advantage of, ripped off, broken or misused. When you have walked through the fire, you will then understand that it was God's great plan for your life. You will come to see that it's part of your healing ministry. Look at
Deuteronomy 32:10-12 and take a close look at the verbs.
10In a desert land GOD found him, in a barren and howling waste. GOD shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye, 11 like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions. 12 The LORD alone led him; no foreign god was with him. (NIV)
Verse 11 describes what it is like to be in the desert, to be crushed. It is a picture of an eagle who forces its young out of the nest. The little eaglet falls helplessly towards the ground. You can imagine the poor little eaglet falling head over heels, desperately flapping its wings and frankly calling out to its mother for help. The eagle then sweeps down and spreads her incredible wings and catches her young and carries her young to great heights. Do you know what the mother is trying to do? She is trying to teach her young how to fly, so it will soar to new heights. There will be times you feel as if you are falling, and you will be convinced that God has abandoned you, and you will cry out for God's help, but it will seem like he is silent. You will wonder, what is God doing? He is teaching you the position of a servant. He is preparing you to soar to new heights so you can minister to other in a great way.
So Moses learns the position of a servant and he ministers to the ladies. There is a 2nd thing you will learn when you are in a crisis, or in a desert.
SECOND -- YOU WILL LEARN THE _____ OF OBSCURITY.
You will learn what it is like to be alone. I want you to see Moses' job description for 40 years.
Exodus 2:21-23
21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. 22 Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, "I have become an alien in a foreign land."
23 During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. (NIV)
Verse 23 begins with monotony. It says, "During that long period..." You can feel the incredible day after day of never changing monotony. The King James translates it this way: "And it came to pass in the process of time..." The New American Standard translates it: "It came about in the course of those many days..." Life as Moses knew it has come to a slow, sluggish pace. When you are in the desert, you will feel all alone. Now remember, Moses is the hero of Egypt. He was use to action. He was use to a quick pace. He was as the Bible says in Acts 7:22
22 Moses was powerful in speech and action. (NIV)
But life now has come to a grinding stop.
I remember when Velva and I moved from Portland, Oregon to Emmett, Idaho. The population of Emmett is 4,700. Shortly after moving there we soon learned that the main activity was driving up to the bakery and watching the dough rise. I mean the pace was slow and it took some adjustment. Well, Moses is now at a 40 year rest stop. For 40 years he has been in a desert. When you are being crushed there is an aloneness that you can not imagine.
I heard of a man who was deeply crushed with cutting remarks from his own church. He said to his wife, "I don't want to go to that church any more. People aren't friendly there. They don't speak to me. They walk away from me. I just don't want to go there ever again." His wife said, "You ought to go." He replied, "But I don't want to go." She said, "You need to go." He said, "But I don't want to. Why should I go?" She said, "You're a member of the church, and after all, you're the pastor."
When you have been hurt deeply, you will feel so alone. We are not use to being alone. We're use to a rapid pace. But not in God's classroom. When you are in God's classroom, when God is preparing you for a future ministry, life comes to a grinding stop. You have heard the American prayer, "Lord, I want patience and I want it now!" For 40 years Moses has been in the desert. This is the pharaoh elect. He is highly qualified in science, math, and in public speaking. And now the he can only speak to sheep. When you are divinely crushed, you will learn to be still.
THIRD -- YOU WILL LEARN THE ______________ OF GOD.
Exodus 2:24-25
24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. 25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them. (NIV)
Notice it says in verse 24 and 25, "GOD HEARD, GOD REMEMBERED, GOD LOOKED", and "GOD WAS CONCERNED." No matter what your crisis, God has not forgotten you. "GOD HEARD", the Hebrew word means to listen intently. God hears your groaning. Verse 24 says, "GOD REMEMBERED", the Hebrew word means to write it down. God has your cry for help written down, it will not be forgotten. Then it says, "GOD LOOKED," the Hebrew word means to look after. God is looking after your need. Then it says, "GOD WAS CONCERNED," the Hebrew word means to know by personal experience. God knows personally the crisis you are in because he has experienced the same pain. You can not escape that God is personally acquainted with your crisis. Look at:
Psalm 139:9-10
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn..., 0 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. (NIV)
What does that mean? It means even if you could travel the speed of light, you still could not flee the presence of God. If you could travel the speed of light, at 186,000 miles per second, you would be at the moon in 11/3 seconds. You would be at the closest star in 4 years. What is God telling you? He is telling you that you can not flee His presence. But when you are in the desert you will question
that God is even there. You will forget that God hears your groaning. And yet, you are precisely where God wants you to be. God is preparing you for greater service by chipping off the rough edges.
In Florence, Italy there is an 8 foot, white marble statue of David by Michelangelo. He was working for the religious leaders of the church. They had at great expense purchased that large block of marble and they became very disturbed that Michelangelo was chipping away so many pieces. He was approached by one the leading religious figures who rebuked him for chipping away so much. Michelangelo replied, "As the chips fall away, a perfect image emerges."
That's us as we are in the desert. Your chips are falling away and the image of Christ is emerging. When life doesn't make any sense, don't hurry the process. It takes time to do a good piece of sculpture.
FIRST: SERVANT
SECOND: PAIN
THIRD: PRESENCE
When Life Does Not Make Sence
WHEN LIFE DOES NOT MAKE SENCE
EXODUS 2:10
At time's life does not make any sense. Many times there is no explanation, no under- standing as to why this crisis or why that crisis. But at times, God pulls back the curtains of his sovereign will, and He allows us to see why we are in a crisis. Such will be the case as we look at the life of Moses.
Moses once lived in a palace, but as we look at Exodus 2:15 now he lives in a desert. Moses once was a ruler and a leader of men, but soon he will be a ruler and leader of sheep. He has no idea that God was preparing him for an even greater ministry. We are going to pull back the curtains of heaven, and we are going to see how God used Moses' desert experience as preparation for incredible service. I do not know if you are going through a crisis, but for Moses it was preparation for being used greatly by God. And may I suggest that if you are going through a crises God is preparing for future service.
Alan Redpath while pastor of Moody Memorial Church put it this way "When God wants to do an impossible task, he takes an impossible person and crushes them."
Everything I have to say today as it relates to the life of Moses has to do with that statement. If the truth were known many of us would admit that we are impossible people. I mean our slogan in life is, “I want it my way.”
And until we are divinely crushed, until we are broken to the place of submission of God's will, God will not use us in that particular manner for which he has called us.
A. W. Tozer put it another way, "It is doubtful that God can use anyone greatly until He has hurt them deeply."
There are times when God has allowed deep and severe trials. And when you are in those trials you will wonder about the justice of God. There will be times when God will kick the crutches out from under you. There will be times when God will take away your comforts and remove all your rights. And you will wonder why?
It may be that in God's great plan He wants to use you in a great way. In the life of Moses that is exactly God's intention. God is going to crush Moses. Today we will experience the brokenness of being crushed.
A. MOSES LIFE, PRIOR TO BE BROKEN BY GOD – RAISED FOR SUCCESS.
One thing that I want you to see in Moses is that he was highly qualified. Look at ACTS 7:22:
122 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
The Jewish historian Josephus tells us that Pharaoh’s daughter had actually trained and reared young Moses to be the Pharaoh of Egypt. Since Pharaoh had no son, Moses was next in line to be the pharaoh elect. So his new mother was molding him into an Egyptian.
Moses was trained in all the Egyptian sciences, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, medicine, philosophy, law, music, sculpture, painting, and the broadest knowledge of Egyptian literature. He was being groomed to be the next pharaoh. And the results were incredible. Look at the results in ACTS 7:22.
ACTS 7:22:
122 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
Do you see the word "powerful" in the New International Version, ("mighty" in the King James Version)? The Greek word is dunamai, from which we get our word dynamite. Meaning this, Moses was very powerful in communication and action. He was an incredible debater and a military hero.
Here is Moses is highly qualified, but utterless useless for serving God.
A historian tells us that Moses led the Egyptian Army in numerous military campaigns, and he was always victorious. Moses had all the ability, all the intellect, and he had all the education. He was highly qualified to be a leader, but he was entirely useless when it came to doing God's will, God's way. Look at:
ACTS 7:23-29
23 "When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his fellow Israelites. 24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian.
Moses, in attempting to do God's will, kills an Egyptian. That’s Moses' way of doing God's will. After all Moses thinks, I am the champion of Egypt. I'm a hero. I can do no wrong. So he just kills the Egyptian.
Now he is trying to do God's will, his way. So many sincere Christians try to do God's will their way. I have seen where some will sincerely hold back their tithe for their own purposes, thinking that they are sincerely doing God's will, but they are sincerely wrong. Others will spread rumors discrediting someone so they can accomplish their own purposes. EXODUS 2:11-12 illustrates that.
EXODUS 2:11-12
11 NOW IT CAME ABOUT IN THOSE DAYS, AWHEN 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 ASTRUCK DOWN THE EGYPTIAN AND HID HIM IN THE SAND.
Did you notice? Moses looks to the left, then he looks to the right, he looks behind and he looks in front of him. And he sees one. So he kills the Egyptian. But three is one direction that he failed to look. Do you know what it is? He did not look to God.
Remember, Moses is highly trained, but completely useless in serving God.
There is no mention of God in his deliverance plan. There is no mention of prayer. Why didn’t Moses pray about being the deliver?
I believe he did not pray to God about delivering the children of Israel out of Egypt, because he is bright. He has already scored high in the classroom and he did not pray about that. His has proven his ability on the battlefield and he didn’t pray about that. So when it comes to delivering the Israelites, he can handle that too.
EXODUS 2:12
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.
When we attempt to do God's will our own way, in our own strength, it always backfires.
Moses is wrong, but you could not convince him that he is wrong. You say, how do you know that?
Look at Acts 7:25:
25 Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not.
When you are wrong, say you are wrong. Don’t let days and weeks pass. Because the passing of time will move you to deny the truth.
I heard this story about someone who sent the IRS a letter. It said, “I haven’t been able to sleep because last year when I filed out my income tax return, I deliberately misrepresented my income. I am enclosing a check for $150.00, and if I still can’t sleep I will send you the rest.
We will do anything in the world to keep from admitting we are wrong.
Do you think Moses is sincere? Sure he is, but he is not in touch with God. So he hides the evidence.
You know that was the same thing that Adam did when he sinned. He tried to cover up is sin. And he didn’t cover up his wife first.
The very next day, after Moses kills the Egyptian. Watch what happens.
Acts 7:2628
26 The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, `Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?' 27 "But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, `Who made you ruler and judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?' 29 When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian.
The very next day, the hero of Egypt runs for is life. Only one day has passed since the public was pinning medals on him. Now he runs for his life.
I want you to notice very closely in Exodus 2:15. Notice where you find Moses.
Exodus EXODUS 2:15
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.
He is stilling by a well. Here is Moses, the champion of Egypt sitting in the sand, by a well, as a murderer.
To get a good picture of what Moses is feeling as he sits by the well, imagine being highly successful and losing everything. Or imagine being happily married, but one day as you are at work, you are served divorce papers. Those of you who have been there, know that when you are by the well, it is a lonely place.
You can not imagine it, unless you have been there. The question most often asked is, by people who are by the well is, "How did it happen?" How did I lose everything? You don't have to do anything wrong to loose your business, all your profits can be embezzled, or you can be swindled by a shady business partner. In Moses' case, he sits by the well, it is not by the actions of others, but attempting to do God's will his own way.
If the truth were know, there are many sitting by the well. Well intentioned people, who have attempted to do God’s will their own way. And they have ended sitting by the well of discouragement.
What do you think Moses is thinking as he sits by the well of discouragement? I think he may thinking he is a failure.
Here is pharaoh’s elect, the man who in Acts chapter 7 says is, “POWERUFL IN SPEECH AND ACTION,” sitting by a well, feeling like a complete failure. All his dreams of being the champion, the deliverer of Egypt seem to be gone.
When he fled Egypt, I wonder, what he took with him? If he took his medals or trophies, how useless they most look now.
So here he sits by the well. All alone, feeling completely useless. No longer feeling highly qualified.
I want to say something about being by the well of discouragement.
First – When you are by the well of discouragement, it is essential that you trust that God knows what He is doing in your life.
JEREMIAH 29:11
11 ‘FOR I KNOW THE PLANS THAT I HAVE FOR YOU,’ DECLARES THE LORD, ‘PLANS FOR WELFARE AND NOT FOR CALAMITY TO GIVE YOU A FUTURE AND A HOPE.*
Press on in spite of your present heartaches. Some of us have been by the well, and we can sit there and we can grumble, we can complain or we can trust that God knows what He is doing in our life. It will not be easy, but it will be right.
Second – When you are by the well of discouragement, don’t surrender to self pity. Do not quit. And do not complain. Recognize that when you are by the well, that God is still at work in your life.
PSALM 142:5
5 I CRIED OUT TO YOU, O LORD; I SAID, “YOU ARE MY REFUGE, MY PORTION IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING.*
Third – Acknowledge to God that you accept is sovereign plan for your life.
PSALM 139:1-4
1 O LORD, YOU HAVE SEARCHED ME AND KNOWN ME.
2 YOU KNOW WHEN I SIT DOWN AND WHEN I RISE UP; YOU UNDERSTAND MY THOUGHT FROM AFAR.
3 YOU SCRUTINIZE MY PATH AND MY LYING DOWN, AND ARE INTIMATELY ACQUAINTED WITH ALL MY WAYS.
4 EVEN BEFORE THERE IS A WORD ON MY TONGUE, BEHOLD, O LORD, YOU KNOW IT ALL.
Fourth – Recognize that when you are down to nothing, God is up to something.
Moses, who was powerful in speech and action, is now in the position of being molded by God to do God’s will, God’s way. Are you?