Discouragement and Promise

Introduction

10,000 Sermon Illustrations River of Disappointment

Sir Alexander Mackenzie is a Canadian hero. An early fur trader and explorer, he accomplished a magnificent feat when he led an expedition across Canada from Fort Chippewyan on Lake Athabasca to the Pacific Ocean. His incredible journey was completed in 1793, 11 years before Lewis and Clark began their famous expedition to the west. Mackenzie’s earlier attempt in 1789, however, had been a major disappointment. His explorers had set out in an effort to find a water route to the Pacific. The valiant group followed a mighty river (now named the Mackenzie) with high hopes, paddling furiously amid great danger. Unfortunately, it didn’t empty into the Pacific, but into the Arctic Ocean. In his diary, Mackenzie called it the “River of Disappointment.”

10,000 Sermon Illustrations River of Disappointment

Sir Alexander Mackenzie is a Canadian hero. An early fur trader and explorer, he accomplished a magnificent feat when he led an expedition across Canada from Fort Chippewyan on Lake Athabasca to the Pacific Ocean. His incredible journey was completed in 1793, 11 years before Lewis and Clark began their famous expedition to the west. Mackenzie’s earlier attempt in 1789, however, had been a major disappointment. His explorers had set out in an effort to find a water route to the Pacific. The valiant group followed a mighty river (now named the Mackenzie) with high hopes, paddling furiously amid great danger. Unfortunately, it didn’t empty into the Pacific, but into the Arctic Ocean. In his diary, Mackenzie called it the “River of Disappointment.”

10,000 Sermon Illustrations River of Disappointment

Sir Alexander Mackenzie is a Canadian hero. An early fur trader and explorer, he accomplished a magnificent feat when he led an expedition across Canada from Fort Chippewyan on Lake Athabasca to the Pacific Ocean. His incredible journey was completed in 1793, 11 years before Lewis and Clark began their famous expedition to the west. Mackenzie’s earlier attempt in 1789, however, had been a major disappointment. His explorers had set out in an effort to find a water route to the Pacific. The valiant group followed a mighty river (now named the Mackenzie) with high hopes, paddling furiously amid great danger. Unfortunately, it didn’t empty into the Pacific, but into the Arctic Ocean. In his diary, Mackenzie called it the “River of Disappointment.”

10,000 Sermon Illustrations River of Disappointment

Sir Alexander Mackenzie is a Canadian hero. An early fur trader and explorer, he accomplished a magnificent feat when he led an expedition across Canada from Fort Chippewyan on Lake Athabasca to the Pacific Ocean. His incredible journey was completed in 1793, 11 years before Lewis and Clark began their famous expedition to the west. Mackenzie’s earlier attempt in 1789, however, had been a major disappointment. His explorers had set out in an effort to find a water route to the Pacific. The valiant group followed a mighty river (now named the Mackenzie) with high hopes, paddling furiously amid great danger. Unfortunately, it didn’t empty into the Pacific, but into the Arctic Ocean. In his diary, Mackenzie called it the “River of Disappointment.”

Sir Alexander Mackenzie is a Canadian hero. An early fur trader and explorer, he accomplished a magnificent feat when he led an expedition across Canada from Fort Chippewyan on Lake Athabasca to the Pacific Ocean. His incredible journey was completed in 1793, 11 years before Lewis and Clark began their famous expedition to the west. Mackenzie’s earlier attempt in 1789, however, had been a major disappointment. His explorers had set out in an effort to find a water route to the Pacific. The valiant group followed a mighty river (now named the Mackenzie) with high hopes, paddling furiously amid great danger. Unfortunately, it didn’t empty into the Pacific, but into the Arctic Ocean. In his diary, Mackenzie called it the “River of Disappointment.”[1]

Background

The people lash out at Moses. They heard the word of the Lord and rejoiced. After centuries of bondage they were going to be freed. They broke out in worship. The problem is freedom did not come right away. The result of Moses’s confrontation with Pharaoh was not liberty but increased bondage. The hope disappeared and anger resulted. Things are worse now than before Moses came and they let him now. The Lord’s messenger feels the heat and takes his complaint to the Lord

Exposition

Verses 22 - 23: A discouraged servant goes before his God asking why? He didn’t want to come back to Egypt and events would suggest he was right in that viewpoint. He delivered the word of the Lord and pain resulted. He gave the message he was given, and the life of his people was made even more bitter. He is effectively questioning the the Lord’s wisdom and actions given Israel’s more perilous position. He doesn’t stop there however, since he also questions God about not yet doing something about the it. Lest we judge Moses too harshly, or harshly at all, we must consider ourselves and how often we do this. After all, things don’t always go as we would expect of like as we operate in ministry. What do we do when this occurs?

Christians today must understand that declaring the word of the Lord, the gospel of Jesus Christ, will often be met with scorn, hatred, and hardship. How could not be? It tells men and women they are not good. They are not autonomous, nor are they their own gods. It calls people to account and declares there is a Creator to whom they must answer. Humanity has refused to honor Him, stands in rebellion against Him, and must suffer the consequences. These are hard truths and often bring hardship to we as His people. Nonetheless we must tell them and willingly accept the consequences, knowing the promise reward is much greater. We also shouldn’t expect that persecutions will pass quickly. Calvin makes a useful observation: “He wished to accustom His servants in all ages to patience, lest they should faint in their minds, if He does not immediately answer their prayers, and, at every moment, relieve them from their distresses.”[2] Paul remains us that even through hardships will come, it will come to our good ().

We also mustn’t not confuse God’s timetable with ours. His thoughts are ways are not like ours (). They are far above us. The Lord looks from eternity and not only knows but decrees the end from the beginning. The chess pieces are already at checkmate. Therefore, rather than questioning or blaming God, we must trust and obey knowing that His plan shall be fulfilled.

On last point to make here and it is in Moses’ defense: Moses went to God after the people complained. His first response to this new problem was to go to the source and Lord of all things. This is something to emulate. When problems arise, our first instinct must be to cry out to our heavenly father. He will not turn us way. He listens and answers. He may not give us the answer that we want but He cares, and He will take all things to use for our good and His glory. Moses also was motivated by the suffering of the people.[3] He couldn’t bear to see their pain and wanted God to help. This is the love of God and the type of love we must have for God’s people, both saved and yet to be saved.

Chap. 6:1 - The Lord’s response to Moses is one we must all remember: ‘You will see what I will do’. Rather than directly answer Moses, The Lord declares Pharaoh will fold under His awesome power. God is going to act in such a way that the same Pharaoh who now holds tightly to the Hebrews will strive to get them out of Egypt. What is happening will be for His glory and Israel’s good. And they won’t go empty handed (). Israel will be blessed and all the world will know that there is one and only one sovereign God who rules creation. Calvin is again helpful here: “It was, indeed, possible for God to overwhelm him at once, by a single nod, so that he should even fall down dead at the very sight of Moses; but… He… chose more clearly to lay open His power; for if Pharaoh had either voluntarily yielded, or had been overcome without effort, the glory of the victory would not have been so illustrious.”[4]

Calvin, J., & Bingham, C. W. (2010). Commentaries on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony (Vol. 1, p. 112). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

Verses 2 - 3: The Lord here reminds Moses that He is the sovereign, eternal, all-powerful LORD of creation. All of this goes back to God’s first revelation of Himself to Moses.[5] The Lord is reminding Moses of who He is and that He is in control. He is the God that appeared to the patriarchs, albeit in a more veiled way. This leads us to another apologetics point. The text appears says that God was not known as Yahweh to the patriarchs, rather as El Shaddai. There is a problem here however, since the name Yahweh appears 162 times in Genesis, as early as [6]. There are 34 times where speakers in Genesis use the name, including the Patriarchs ().[7] The Lord uses his name with both Abram () and Jacob () . How do we resolve this apparent discrepancy? The easiest answer is to say it is a contradiction, proof of the Bible’s fallibility and lack of divine authorship. For us as Christians this is not an acceptable option. It would mean our faith is foolish and in vain. Another option is that Moses was being anachronistic in Genesis. Since he knew God’s name when he was writing the book he just put it in there. The best option is that although the patriarchs new the name of God, they different comprehend its full meaning. They knew God as a blessor and promise maker. Abram saw God’s destructive power and Jacob experienced God’s protective care. It would be Israel’s descendants however, whom would truly know the meaning of God’s name, that is, they would receive a greater understanding of who He is.

1500 years later Israel would receive an even greater revelation of who God was in the person of the Son. Christ Jesus is the exact image of the Father (). Christ has revealed Him to us (). The apostles saw this with their eyes. We see this by the Spirit. The same eternal God that was at work then is at work now. He has made promises to His people today and they shall come to pass. Praise the name of the Lord.

Verses 4 - 5: This is not a new thing Yahweh is doing. This is the fulfillment of a promise to their forefathers. They knew Him as the eternal sovereign God who made the covenant. Israel shall now Him is the all-powerful God who fulfills His covenant. He knows what His people have experienced and is now ready to act to deliver them for the sake of His glory and His word to the patriarchs.

Verses 6 - 9: The Lord commands Moses to encourage the people. He is Yahweh and He will do what He said he would. He is to reiterate the promises of God. There are four promises I want to highlight as they are also gospel promises:

He will free Israel from the burden of slavery in Egypt - Israel is bound and chained. It is enslaved with no hope of escape. The God of heaven has come down and He will free them and remove the weight from their backs. Christ Jesus came down from the Father and freed us from the slavery of sin, something we couldn’t do on our own ().

He will bring redemption to Israel - The LORD will be Israel’s kinsmen redeemer. This was a person who was a close relative of someone whom purchased back property when that family member had to sell it. If the family member had to sell himself, sometimes with family, into slavery the kinsman redeemer would purchase him / them back. He would also take a dead relative’s wife and produce an heir for said deceased. This is what the Lord was going to do. He is coming to the aid of Israel. He is intervening on their behalf and will rescue them. The LORD is the close relative for Israel and will come by His powerful raised hand and terrible judgments against Israel’s defiant leader. Even so, Christ Jesus is the Kinsman redeemer of all the saints, of His church, of the people the Father has given to Him ().

He will adopt them as His people - The Lord has already described Israel to Moses and Pharaoh as His firstborn. He is saving Israel to bring it into covenant relationship Himself. This is solely by His grace. Israel has not earned this but will benefit from it. Glory will be glorified in and through it. As believers today, we are to live as we belong to Christ because we do (; ). He chose us to live for Him and reflect His light ()

He will give Israel an inheritance - The Lord will take Israel out of bondage and provide them with two great possessions, the land of Canaan and Himself. In this land they will have all they need. All they must do is stay faithful. For Christians, we have spiritual blessings in high places in Christ Jesus waiting for us (). We have the new heaven and the new earth awaiting us. Creation itself will be redeemed (). We will have all we need. In fact, we won’t even need the sun because the Lord Himself will provide the light (;). What we will receive is so much greater than what we lost or left behind.

Unfortunately. The people refuse to hear Moses. They are weighed down by the bondage and despair. Their anguish is so great, especially after their crushed hope for a quick end, they have turned on and off Moses. As Charles Spurgeon said, they were just struggling to exist. They had no time for hope. It is only after God’s mighty deeds that the people will see and understand. They is a microcosm for the gospel. Only after God’s mighty act in our lives can we see and appreciate Him and what He has done.

God never goes back on His promises and, through he tarries, will do what He says. God’ promises are trustworthy because they are solely dependent upon Him. Yahweh, the self-sufficient, self-existent, eternal God, has the power in Himself to bring about what he wills. This is our greatest encouragement. Yahweh, the only one who is being in Himself, hasn’t and can’t be thwarted from His plans. All that He decrees is, until He says otherwise. This is the great hope of all the faithful. As the songwriter said: God is able to do what He said He will do. Take this to the heavenly bank. Unfortunately, the people won’t listen. They are too focused on their current condition to accept the promises of God. When we take our eyes off God and His promises, we are left only with despair.

Verses 10 - 13: The Lord commands Moses to go back to Pharaoh. The discouraged Moses protests that Pharaoh has no reason the listen to him given that the people no longer will. He again refers to speech. He doesn’t speak well, and the situation is worse than before. The Lord will have none of it. Moses is to go and do what the Lord says. He will handle the rest

Practical Application

God never goes back on His promises and, though He tarries, will perform them. His promises are trustworthy because they are solely dependent upon Him. Yahweh, the self-sufficient, self-existent, eternal God, has the power in Himself to bring about what He wills. This is our greatest encouragement. Yahweh, the only one who is being in Himself, hasn’t and can’t be thwarted from His plans. All that He decrees shall be. This is the great hope of all the faithful. As the songwriter said: God is able to do what He said He will do. Take this to the heavenly bank. Unfortunately, we are sometimes too focused on our current condition to see these great truths. When we take our eyes off God and His promises, we are left only with despair. Instead, we must stay in the word and among the faithful. We must be constantly reminded of who God is. We must set the LORD before us and cast our care upon Him. We must set our minds on things above. I know it can be hard. I know what a red bank account looks like. I know what having no work looks like. I know what having a sick family member looks like. I know what being talked about looks like. I also know God is faithful, that He never leaves His people, and that He acts at His appointed time to aid His people for His glory and our good. Saints of God let us rest in the promises of God. Wherever you are He knows you and your situation thoroughly and He is with you. He will complete was He has started.

Gospel Application

Apart from Christ we are in bondage. We are enslaved to sin and have no hope of freedom. We are indeed in peril and the sword of the wrath of God awaits us. It doesn’t have to be this way. Jesus Christ came to save sinners. All those who put their trust in Him will be saved. Repent and believe the gospel. Acknowledge and confess your sin. Ask for forgiveness and to be received into his kingdom. Place your trust in Him and what he has done, not your works and you will be saved. Don’t delay. Repent and believe today.

1. Galaxie Software. (2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press.

2. Calvin, J., & Bingham, C. W. (2010). Commentaries on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony (Vol. 1, p. 112). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

Calvin, J., & Bingham, C. W. (2010). Commentaries on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony (Vol. 1, p. 112). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.”

3. Philip Graham Ryken, Exodus: Saved for God's Glory, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 164.

4. Calvin, J., & Bingham, C. W. (2010). Commentaries on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony (Vol. 1, p. 112). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

5. Philip Graham Ryken, Exodus: Saved for God's Glory, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 168.

6. Kaiser, W. C., Jr. (2008). Exodus. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis–Leviticus (Revised Edition) (Vol. 1, p. 392). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Kaiser, W. C., Jr. (2008). Exodus. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis–Leviticus (Revised Edition) (Vol. 1, p. 392). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

7. Ibid