There and Back Again

“They didn’t teach me this in in school.” That is probably one of the most common phrases out of people mouth. THere are just so many things that we come across, problems to solve, situations to address, that we don’t really know what to do. Nobody taught us “how” to do this. There are manhy times as a pastor where I run up against a wall and I think, “Wow, they didn’ tteach me what to do about that.”

Today we are going to see Moses in an episode of his life where I imagine he said, “They didn’t teach me this in school.” Moses’ education of course was a brief episode at teh burning bush, but that was enough to compel him to go and lead Israel out of Egypt. There was still much that he did not know.

Of course just like the young student, if he would reflect for a minute, would probably realize that while he didn’t learn something explicitly in school, he was prepared for it in a variety of ways. So Moses is going to see that maybe he hasn’t been trained for exactly how to deal with these situations. But he has been prepared for it by God. So today we’re goign to look at three ways that God prepares Moses, and three crises that Moses has to face early in his ministry.

We will be in to start today, . WE have been walkign through the book of Exodus the last month or so as a chruch. And we talkeda bout how God brought MOses to the land of Midian as an exile, and how MOses made a home for himself. Then last week we talked about how Moses was caleld by God. He got this huge revelation of who God was. He saw that God is on the one hand, utterly, terribly, hugely, transcendent. Then on teh other, he saw that God is also immenent. God is both holy and love. God is both other and near. God is both self-existent and covenant-keeping. And that’s going to be important for us today. Then Moses gets this mission to go and to lead Israel out of the land of Egypt, so after some handwringing, Moses eventually agrees and he goes.

God’s covenant

1. Firstborn Son

“Go in peace” (vs. 18-20): So Moses first goes to his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Now, Jethro has been so good and kind to Moses. He has taken him into his house, and he has given him his daughter, and he has given him a vocation. This is a man who has been very good to Moses. And Moses asks leave to go and help out his people. And Jethro says, “Go in peace.” Here is Jethro, doing what priests do which is to be a mediator between God andman, and he says, “go in peace.” Jethro is being very fatherly, very loving. Then we see here that Moses puts his own wife and children on the donkey and heads towards Egypt. We see here that the theme of fatherhood is very strong in thi spassage.

Hardening the heart (21): Now, God speaks to Moses. And God says, “Moses, do everythign I told you to do before Pharaoh. But just so you know, Pharaoh is going to harden his heart.” Now, we will spend quite some time dealing with this issue of Pharaoh hardening his heart in the weeks to come. But for now, God says to Moses, Moses, there is trouble ahead. It will be difficult. It will be hard.

“Firstborn Son” (vs 22-23) Then God says so Moses, when that happens, here’s what you need to know. Israel is my firstborn son. Now, there are two things about this description which are important. First, Israel is like a son to God. Just like Jethro has told Moses, “go in peace,” so God has said to Israel, “Come in peace.” God has given them a proper relationship to him. God has adopted them into his family, they are his people. But he also calls Israel the firstborn. What he means is that he has given to them the lion’s share of his blessing. That they are unique and special to him. that they are teh recipients of the divine promise. There is something about Israel that was uniquely important to God. And God says, Moses, when Pharaoh won’t allow Israel, my firstborn son to leave, I will kill Pharaoh’s firstborn son to make it happen. WHat this is referring to, of course, is the final plague. Where Yahweh slays all the firstborn children among the Egyptians, especially important is Pharaoh’s own son. God will destroy them because Pharaoh will not allow Israel to go. God will show once and for all who is the real God.So here, God is making known to Moses his love and his zeal for his own people. He is saying that God will stop at absolutely nothing to bring them home.

So here, God is making known to Moses his love and his zeal for his own people. He is saying that God will stop at absolutely nothing to

2. Bridegroom of Blood

So, now, we come to one of the strangest stories of the entire Bible. And I’m just going to warn you, it gets weird. But I think we will see that it is actually a blessing. So it says here starting in 24.... So what we have just seen is that God meets Moses on the way to slay him. And Zipporah, teh wife of Moses, circumcises Moses’ son Gershom, and touches Moses’ feet with the foreskin, and the angel passes over Moses, and she says you are a “bridegroom of blood” to me. Yes, we did read that right. ANd I know that some of you are just hoping that I’m going to pass over that… eya, sorry. A couple of things.

God reminds Moses of his covenant with Israel: The first thing that we have to see here is that God reminds Moses of his covenant with Israel. In , God had made a covenant with Israel, and the sign of that covenant was that every male in the Israelite household was to be circumcised on teh 8th day. Because of that circumcision, they are under God’s protection.

Gershom was not circumcised: Now, Moses, for whatever reason, had not chosen to circumcise his son. Therefore, Moses was disobedient to God’s law and God’s commandment. So, God was “seeking to kill him.” Now, we have to notice how gracious God is here. Because God does not do this all at once, instead God gives Moses a chance to repent. He gives Moses a chance to turn back to him and to not sin against him in this way.

Bridegroom of blood: So Zipporah realizes what is going on here. So she circumcises their son and she touches Moses’ feet with it and says, “you are a bridegroom of blood.” Now, this is one of the most confusing parts of teh whole story. Now, I was reading a Jewish commentary this week, and she makes the case that part of the meaning of the word “bridegroom” probably has something to do with protection. And I think that could be true. There are several points as you are reading through the Bible where you see “bridegroom”, in particular, associated with protection (jeremiah 33:11; ). So, when we are reading this and she says, “you are a bridegroom of blood,” what she is saying is that, “you are saved or protected by teh blood.”

Passover: So here, is what we need to see. The book of Exodus is trying to get us to look forward to what is going to happen. So, when we look at this one episode in light of the whole story of Exodus, it comes into relief. This is basically foreshadowing the passover, during the tenth plague that he will bring on Egypt to kill all teh firstborn sons. There God tells Moses that his angel of death will move through teh land killing every firstborn son. But, he makes a covenant with Israel that if Israel will make a sacrifice and put the blood of the animal on teh doorpost, then he will passover them. They will be “saved or protected by the blood.” And of course, the passover is not the only place where Israel is saved by the blood in Exodus. Much of the second part o teh book of Exodus is describing teh sacrificial mission, where Israel is given instructions for how to make sacrifices that will atone for their sins, and how to slaughter animals in a way that will sav ethem. Once again, they are saved by the blood. THis episode, as strange as it might seem, is God once again reminding Moses of his mercy and his love and his unstoppable will to save them. God is simply reminding Moses of his covenant.

God is foreshadowing his mercy:

3. God has come down

Aaron (vs. 27-28): So the last bit of the chapter tells us that God speaks to Aaron, Moses, brother, and says, “Go meet Moses in teh wilderness.” This was, after all, to keep his promise and his word to Moses earlier in teh chapter that he would send Aaron. So Aaron goes out and he meets Moses, and they have this huge party and worship celebration, because God has kept his word, and because of what God has promised to do for his covenant people, Israel.

Going to the elders an teh peopel of Israel (29-31a): So Moses and Aaron go to the elders and to the epople of Israel. And Just like God said, Moses speaks to Aaron, and aaron speaks to teh elders. ANd they do the signs that God gives them to do: the snake, the leprousy, and the blood. And it says that hte people “believed.” They are so excited that God has shown that he will keep his word to his poeple.

Worship (31): So they start to worship. But notice exactly what they worship God for. They worship him because he has visited his people and seen their afflictions. Israel is so excited, because God has not forgotten about them. God has kept his covenant with them. God has “visited them.” This is one of the major themes of the book of Eoxuds, is that God is increasingly making his presence known among the leaders of israel. God has been both faithful and loving to make it done.

4. The salvation God gives

The Transcendence and Immanence of God: Notice in all 3 of these episodes the transcendence and the immanence of God. God has, in this chapter, shown himself to be strong and powerful and holy. He is other. He is not like us. Whether it is promising to slay the firstborn of the most powerful man on teh planet, or meeting Moses and seeking to put him to death, or speaking to Aaron to tell him to meet Moses on Mount Sinai. WE should have no doubt about what God can do in this chapter. He is big and strong and powerful and holy. And Moses, has just gotten to see God’s holiness on display in all these ways. But God is also loving. He has chosen Israel to be his firstborn son. Just like Jethro is to Moses, and Moses is to his children, so God will be to Israel. They are adopted as his own. Notice also the love of God for Moses in not slaying him right away. Rather, God gives a way of salvation, a way of escape, through the blood. And notice the love of God for his people Israel in visiting htem in their affliction. Big and close, other and near, holy and loving, this is our God. Both self existent and covenant keeping, both infinitely powerful and uncomparably compassionate, both transcendent and immanent, this is our God. And all three of these episodes point forward to the New Testament as well.

Adoption: In the New Testament, God tells us in that adopted us as his own children. That his spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. God has chosen and adopted and sealed us as his own. You and I are sons and daughters of God. That we have God’s special seal, teh blessing of being a child to God.

Blood: Just like Moses, we are also saved through teh blood. THat Jesus Christ has poured out his blood for our sins. That Jesus Christ has been crucified in our place. That the Lord has been brutally executed so that we might be warmly welcomed. He is indeed the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The angel of death passes over us because we have been washed clean as snow through teh scarlet tide.

Presence: And just like Israel, God has truly visited us. He is come in Christ, he is “immanuel, God with us.” That Jesus Christ came and dwelt among us. That he has lived in every way as we have, yet without sin. That even though he has crucified, risen, and ascended to heaven, that through his Holy SPirit, he is “with us always, even to the end of the age.” That he will never leave us or forsake us. That one day we will see him at last, in the heavenly Jerusalem. And he will wipe every tear from our eye and there will be no more sufering or pain. And we will see him even as he sees us. And he will be to us a God and we will be to him a people. And his presence will never ever let us go.

These things prepare us: These things, these realities, they prepare us for the days ahead. They prepare us for the sufferings of thsi world, for the rejection and the isolation that come to us in Christ, for the rejection that comes from knowing him, for the trials that we face. Dear friend, part of the reason that it is important to come to church and hear God’s word, to read your Bible, to take communion, is because in these things we are reminding our souls of the promises of God in Christ. We are reminding ourselves of the grace of God that has been made known once for all and to all time. It is the promises of God in Christ that prepare us for the trials of a fallen world. And we will see, there are many trials ahead. Moses in the second half of our Scripture today undergoes three trials which are life altering in their implications.

Enduring Evil

1. Enduring evil (vs. 1-14)

Moses’ first confrontation with Pharaoh (5:1-4): So Moses and Aaron go and they confront Pharaoh. ANd they entreat him to let israel go that Israel might serve the Lord. And Moses, and we get a little tone of his triumphalism here, says “Let us go because the Lord says this.” NOw, we have to imagine what a shock this must have been to Moses. Because he has just had this amazing experience of God’s grace. He has just seen God work in this powerful way and he has just seen God show himself. I mean, Mose shas just seen this amazing revelation of who God is. And so you have to imagine his shock when pharaoh says, “I don’t know who that God is.” I mean, this is a man who uttterly rejects God. WHo will not obey him, and he will not endure him.

Pharaoh increases their burdens (5:5-9): Then we see that Pharaoh increases their burdens. PHaraoh goes and promptly increases their burdens. He does this by taking away the straw, an essential component of their brick-making, but requires them to produce the same amount of bricks. What this was meant to do was to force Israel to go around scavenging for grass or straw or something else that they could use for the bricks. In essence, the goal wa sto make Israel work twice as hard to maek the same thing. THe only reason that Pharaoh ahs to do this? To oppress Israel. It didn’t make economic, political, or spiritual sense. It was pure evil.

“Thus says Pharaoh” (5:10-14): But, as if that weren’t enough, notice what happens next. the taskmasters and the foremen say, “thus says Pharaoh.” Moses had just said to Pharaoh, “thus says the Lord.” Now they say, “thus says Pharaoh.” They are effectively saying that Pharaoh is greater than God. They are committing idolatry, saying that Pharaoh’s word is as good as God, that Pharoah has as much authority as the Lord. Here they are blatantly putting Pharaoh in the place of God. This is nothing other than pure evil.

The trial of evil today: Of course, we know what it is today to face the trial of evil. We see people that we care about sinned against. We see things go wrong. It is hard to watch TV without seeing things that have warranted God’s wrath glorified and magnified. We endure the trial of evil when we are asked to make ethical compromises at our job. When our family wats us to do something we know is wrong. When we are tempted by sin. THis is the trial of evil.

2. Enduring rejection (vs. 15-21)

Foremen complain (5:15-16): Now, the foremen of Israel, and these are probably Israelites who are chosen as representatives for Israel to the Egyptians, go to Pharaoh, they have a little bit of a union strike, right. And they say, Pharaoh, why do you persecute us so? WHy are you doing this? We’re your loyal subjects. We haven’t rebelled, we haven’t kicked against the goads. What did we do wrong.

Idle (17-19): To which Pharaoh says to them, “You are idle. You are idle.” What is Pharaoh doing? Pharaoh is being deliberately stubborn. He of course knows that is not true. But he will use it as a way so that he can explain his own behavior, no problem. SO he says, “no, no, this is not true. IF you were really as hard of workers as you think you are, then you wouldn’t have time to go make sacrifices in teh desert. So it says, ‘they saw they were in trouble.” They realized that there was nothing that they could do. So they leave.

Foreman turn on Moses (20-21): And standing outside are Moses and Aaron. And the foremen of Israel, who wer ejust a second praising God because he had sent Moses and Aaron to them, turn on Moses and Aaron. They say, “ you have made us a stink in the sight of Pharaoh.” So here these two are. Suddenly, they are social pariah’s among their own people. they are rejected, they are isolated, they are alone. This is the trial of rejection.

Trial of rejection today: But we also know the trial of rejection today. This can come when a friend of ours who claims to be a Christian puts distance between us because they are turned off by our faith. This can come when a family member pushes us away because are too close to Jesus. This can come when we feel like we don’t have good friends because of our relationship with jesus. When we feel like we are all alone, abandoned by everyone who we cared about. But this is not hte last trial Moses faces.

3. Enduring hopelessness (vs. 22-23)

Done this evil in sending me? (22): OF course, Moses is at the end of his rope. He doesn’t know what else to do. So he prays to God. And says, “God why have you done this evil to this people? And then notice what he pairs with it, why did you send me?” Moses is so low in the ground that he feels like it was wicked and cruel of God to ever send him to Israel. he feels tha the has done more evil than good.

I have had no good effect (23a): Moses says, Ever since I came, Pharaoh has done evil. HE says, God, Nothing I do works. Nothing I say happens. He says, that anything that I do here is jsut counterproductive. I am not any help at all. He says, everytime I open my mouth, worse things happen. Notice the difference at the end of this chapter from the beginning. When we began, Moses was riding high because of how God has worked through him. But now, Moses could not be lower in the ground because of the resistance he faces.

You have not delivered your people: And he basically finishes by saying, you haven’t kept your word. You haven’t kept your promises. You haven’t done what you said you would do. They’re not out yet. What am I supposed to do? God you haven’t followed through! You promised you were going to deliver your people, but you haven’t yet, What giveS? Why not?

The trial of depressoin: We might say today that Moses is weighed down by serious depression. He cannot see light. He cannot see hope. he cannot see a way out of the mess. He cannot see how things could ever improve. He cannot see how God could ever really act. He just thinks everything seems so hopeless, so pointless, so dark and gloomy. He is at one of hte lowest ponits in his life.

4. How are you going to endure when these trials come

How will you endure? How will you endure when these trials come. How will you endure when someone that you love breaks your trust? How will you endure when you are let go for refusing to make ethical compromises? How will you endure when everyone near you abandons you? How will you endure when you feel rejected by those who are dearest to you for your relationship with jesus/ How will you endure next time you feel hopeless and broken, next time you feel too weighed down to get out of bed in the morning? How will you endure when life seems sapped of light, when life seems sapped of joy, when life seems sapped of connection. When everything is just gray and numb. What will you do next time you hit rock bottom? How will you press through it?

God’s promises are meant to prepare: It is highly significant that God spoke to Moses before he returned to Egypt. It is highly significant that God consistently tried to show Moses his word, hsi promises, his salvation. it is highly significant that God showwed Moses that he would not let go of his firstborn, that he would save Israel through teh blood, that he had come down to see the afflictions of his people. Why would God tell Moses that? To prepare him to endure. You see, there is no way that we can endure the trials of htis life, the brokenness, the pain, teh hurt, the fractured souls, the anxiety and gloom, unless we have the promisees of God. God’s promies are meant to build in us the mettle of eternity, the rock solid core that will withstand the fiercest drought and storm. God’s promises are meant to form Christ in us. They are meant to so fill us up with God’s love, that we are confident in it, even if we don’t feel like we’re experiencing it. God’s promises are meant to form in us something that will not be daunted by the harshest, fiercest trials, no matter what will come. You see, so often, we go through a trial in our life, and we wonder, where God was during it, why God didn’t help us, what was God thinking. But the reality is that God was trying to prepare us all along. He was trying to teach us his word. he was trying to draw us closer to him in prayer. he was trying to show us how all the promises of God find their yes in Jesus, how jesus will never leave us or forsake us, how we can have forgivenes sof our sins. God is wise enough to try to reinforce the island when the hurricane hits, not just try to do damage control.

God always reminds of his promises: Now, if you’re paying attention, you might have noticed that there is one more verse we have today, and that’s 6:1. Because after Moses has been pounded down, after Moses has endured failure and evil and rejection, after Moses has sunk into the dirt, God says this… what is he doing? He is reassuring him. He hasn’t forgotten about Moses. H ehasn’t given up on him. he hasn’t abandoned him. he is the same yesterday and tomorrow. And though man sometimes forgets his promises, God never does. And God will always remidn of his promises. Because yes, the promises of God in Christ are meant to prepare us to endure a broken world, but God will always refresh, restore, reform, rehabilitate, and prepare us anew to face teh challenges.

Conclusion: Horatio Spafford

Many of you are familiar with the song, "It is well,” but perhaps you don’t know how the song came about. Horatio Spafford was a wealthy lawyer in Chicago. And yet, his life seemed turned to pain. His young son died when hew as only 2. Mucho f his wealth was destroyed in teh Great Chicago fire. He sent his four daughters and wife ahead of him on a trip to Euorpe where hew as going to meet him, but their ship hit another ship on the way, and it sunk. ALl four daughters passed and only his wife survived, who sent him a grieving telegram that simply said, “Saved alone.” So Spafford headed out as soon ashe could, and as he passed the area where his daughters lay at teh bottom of the ocean, Spafford wrote those immortal lines:

When peace like a river attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll

Whatever my lot

Thou has taught me to say

It is well, It is well with my soul...

You see, God is teaching you right now for the trial tomorrow. God is reassuring you of his gospel right now because tomorrow you will dobut it. God is preparing you for the days ahead when life will be grim, when hopes will fade, when everythign will fall apart. Do not ignore God’s preparation, because it might just save your life. Let’s pray.

Related Media

Related Sermons