I Am The Lord

Introduction

Exodus 5:22-6:8

Pray

Intro: Chapter 4 & 5 context

Moses and Aaron go to Egypt to say what God has instructed

Pharaoh responds in 5:2 “who is the Lord, that I should listen to him” and refuses to release the people

As a result, Israel is given harder work and their situation becomes more intense

Israel’s foremen complain to Moses in 5:21.

Exodus 5:22-6:8

A MESSAGE TO THE OBEDIENT: (v.22-23) Moses is obedient too God’s desire to go and talk to the people but the external circumstances did not match the promises of God.

Moses returns to God and complains about the situation of the Hebrews and in the process, seemingly questions his commissioning and doubts the character of God.

Moses simply does not grasp the name of God and does not understand the magnitude of God.

His fear of man and self pride seems to still be prevalent and he is allowing the external circumstances dictate his involvement in God’s mission.

You could allow the external circumstances here dictate how committed you will be to the mission of God.

(deeper issue) A message to the obedient: When a person of God accepts the mission of God, the making of disciples, in spite of their own comfort, those who idolize their comfort will despise their work.

The idolatry of comfort, peace, and harmony is devestating to the great commission because of the divide that it naturally creates. Choose God or choose world, choose righteousness or choose sin, choose reconciliation or choose further divide, choose life or choose death!

Matthew 10: 34-38

34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Expect push back when you sell out to the mission of God, persevere through it.

Don’t be the push back.

GOD RESPONDS BY REMINDING MOSES OF GOD’S NAME: The contention of Moses is followed by a response from God in which God once again tells Moses that He is the Lord.

God seems to activate his plans in a tangible way and he does this by saying “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh”

God first makes sure that Moses knows who He is; The Lord.

In the next 6 verses, God declares that He is the Lord 4 times.

This is the name of God, Yahweh (I AM WHO I AM)

The omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient God.

What does it mean that God is The LORD? Why does God want Moses to know this?

Reverence (6:2-4)

God reminds Moses that He appeared to the forefathers but that he appeared to them under a slightly different name; God Almighty.

This is to say that a beginning point to knowing and interacting with God is a posture of reverence.

Job 40:2

“Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?

He who argues with God, let him answer it.”

Romans 9:20

20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?”

If there is one thing that the church needs more of it would be an increased level of reverence toward the God Almighty. As reverence increases so does obedience .

We must be filled with a balance of wonder and fear of The LORD.

Judgment (6:5-6)

God says that he has heard the groanings of his people and he will deliver them.

He makes a distinction between HIS people and the Egyptians, which leads to judgment.

The people of God will ALWAYS be delivered and the enemies of God will always be judged.

2 Thess. 1:8-9

8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,

It applied for the Egyptians and it certainly applies to us! Those who reject Christ will be eternally judged

Just as the Hebrews were slaves and in need of deliverance, so we we slaves to sin and in need of deliverance.

Galatians 4:4-7

4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Reconciliation (6:7-8)

God tells Moses the implication of deliverance from slavery and it is that the people will belong to God and he will dwell with them.

When God’s people are reconciled there is great refuge. We get to dwell with him and he dwells with us!

Ps. 91 :1-2

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

2  I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.”

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

This is our hope, this is what we look forward to! Its a return of how things were in the Garden; God dwelt among his creation.

Conclusion:

God wanted Moses to hear again that he is the LORD, that when he makes a promise, he will fulfill it.

He wants Moses to know that he deserves reverence, that he will judge his enemies, and that he will save and reconcile his people.

If God is from eternity to eternity that means these same truths apply to us today.