Exodus: Final Lessons (Part 1)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
As we come to the end of Exodus, I wanted to take a few weeks wrapping up by highlighting some of the bigger themes and lessons we should take away from the book.
The first thing I want you to understand is that Exodus is a book about God.
The greatest mistake we can make in any book of the Bible is to make the book primarily a book about us and it is no different with Exodus. Exodus is primarily a book about God.
Now that’s not to say we don’t learn something about ourselves! We learn a ton about ourselves, but it is first and foremost teaching us something about God!
So I want to approach the next two or so weeks in that way. I want to recap these last 8 months by highlighting a few things that we learn about God and in so doing, possibly learn a few things about us along the way.
Two lessons about God that I want to dive into this morning.
Our God IS A DELIVERER and Our God is SOVEREIGN
Our God Is A Deliverer
Our God Is A Deliverer
In Exodus 6:1 God the Father speaks these words to Moses
5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. 6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.
In other words, God makes a promise to Moses and his people: I’ve heard your groanings. I will bring you out. I will deliver you. I will redeem you.
And He establishes this promise in another promise:
3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners.
God is saying to Moses, “I promised to Abraham that I would give him and his people the land of Canaan and I am going to honor that promise and no bondage in Egypt is going to stop me.”
And you know what? God does it. Through miracles and plagues and despite a stubborn King and a miles wide sea between them and freedom, God delivers them. How? Because He is the Lord
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
But why does God need to DELIVER? He has to deliver because OPPRESSION EXISTS! In Exodus, we were able to learn a little about those dynamics as well.
We see it in the very first chapter:
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. 13 So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves 14 and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.
Pharaoh, a very very powerful man, allows his fear of the OTHER (the one he doesn’t know according to verse 8) and his fear of a loss power, position, and possessions according to verse 9-10 to drive him towards the worst kind of oppression.
........
SIN drives OPPRESSION. Dr. Carl Ellis, one of my favorite scholars and just flat out people in the whole world, defines OPPRESSION as SIN plus POWER. The more sinful a powerful person is, the more ways they will be capable of oppressing others. The more powerful a sinner is, the greater opportunity they have to oppress others.
But in addition to the dynamics around oppression, Exodus teaches us that God hears the cries of the oppressed.
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.
We’ve also seen this over and over again. The oppressed cry out to God and He answers mightily and boldly, but I’m not just referring to physical oppression. I’m also referring to spiritual oppression. Our sin condition has us bound and in a worse state than physical bondage because the bondage will lead to eternal torment and yet
Our rescue from bondage is also based on a promise. Right after, Adam and Eve sinned in the garden God gives this promise to the serpent
14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
In other words, God promises that through the offspring of the woman, Satan is going to attempt to destroy God’s plan of redemption for humanity, but that the child will have the last say and will crush the SERPENT under His feet.
In Genesis 22, God speaks to Abraham and establishes a promise on top of that promise, he gave to Adam and Eve in the Garden.
17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
Again, we hear that humanity is going to be blessed, rescued, delivered, if you will, through an offspring, through a seed.
1000s of years later. One of the church’s most anointed and dedicated evangelists and church planters, the Apostle Paul, solves the riddle for us...
16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.
In other words, our God remains a delivering God, delivering us from bondage and oppression.
Except this is even a worse bondage and oppression than what we’ve described in Egypt because this oppression is under the devil! And it is for ETERNITY, but through the offspring, Satan’s chains are loosed.
And like Israel was heard by God when they cried out for deliverance, Scripture tells us that any one that calls upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ SHALL BE SAVED!
God brings deliverance by sending His own son and rescuing anyone who calls upon the name of the Son by faith from the curse of serpent and the curse of sin and death.
The Delivering God keeps His promises to deliver. The Delivering God answers when we call.
One last thing we cannot forget about deliverance: TO WHAT END?
We are delivered for WORSHIP! We are set free for worship of God? We hear this over and over again. Let my people go that they may WORSHIP ME!
Exodus 7:16; 3:18; 9:1; 9:13; 8:1; 8:20; 10:3
Over and over again, LET ME PEOPLE GO THAT THEY MAY GO AND WORSHIP ME.
Even in Chapter 10, right after the plague of darkness, we hear this very important exchange that makes the point for us...
24 Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord; your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.”
Pharaoh says “He, go serve the Lord, take your kids too, but leave your flocks behind”.
But check out Moses’ response.
25 But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the Lord our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.”
Moses refuses Pharaoh’s proposition for freedom without all the means needed to worship God rightly. Why because this isn’t just about freedom.
Moses is saying here “We aren’t just in need of freedom. We need you to give us freedom with the tools to worship our God as He has instructed us to worship Him. Because we are being delivered for WORSHIP”
God doesn’t give us freedom for freedom’s sake. He gives us freedom so that it might lead to our worshipping of Him!
If you are given freedom and you don’t use it for worship, you are wasting your freedom.
In fact, if you are given freedom and you don’t use it for worship, the chances are you are bound to something else and don’t even realize it because our hearts were made to worship.
You may be free from drugs but if you don’t use that freedom for service to Christ, then you’ve probably already moved to different more subtle form of bondage.
Maybe now you’re bound to success and that’s why you’re continually chasing it and no matter what level you reach you’re still unsatisfied and whenever you’re denied an opportunity. It doesn’t just disappoint you, it crushes you.
Maybe now you’re bound up in money and it leads you to be less generous and always think you don’t have enough no matter whether you bills are paid or not.
Maybe now you’re bound to your image and people’s opinion of you which leads you to think non-stop about who likes you and doesn’t like you. When the truth is, you’re not on people’s mind nearly as much as you think you are.
Maybe now you’re so bound to your own beauty that you are constantly non-stop modifying your appearance. Running from one outfit to the next. Running up your debt grabbing every new designer shoe.
Even when we look at Israel, when they lost sight of worship of God in their freedom, what happened? They created NEW GODS to worship based on the OLD GODS they had when they were in bondage in Egypt.
Our freedom is intended for worship. And when we don’t use it for that purpose, we will squander it by turning to more subtle forms of bondage.
So our God has come not just to deliver us from bondage, but to deliver us from bondage to HIMSELF! And He does so through Jesus Christ! In Him, we are given TRUE and ABIDING FREEDOM!
Our God Is A Righteous God
Our God Is A Righteous God
Our God Is A Sovereign God
Our God Is A Sovereign God
In Exodus 3:14, we hear these words from the Lord.
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”
This was God declaring to Moses His name. It is name that signifies Lordship, authority, and power.
My sons and I are HUGE Marvel fans. I believe my youngest one is the biggest Marvel fan in the house. We watch all the movies together. In fact, it’s one of our big father-son things.
Well, Marvel has these God like characters that are very prominent in their universe and ongoing stories. THOR and LOKI. Thor is called the God of Thunder and Loki is the God of Mischief but what’s interesting is how they introduce themselves. Thor often says. I’m Thor of Asgard or Thor Son of Odin. Loki often does something similar.
These very powerful beings used these titles to communicate their origins and it is a acknowledgement of sorts that although I am EXTREMELY powerful. I come from somewhere.
But this God that speaks to Moses from BURNING YET UNCONSUMED BUSH announces himself as I AM THAT I AM.
I don’t come from somewhere. The SOMEWHERE comes from Me.
I don’t have an ORIGIN. ALL ORIGINS come from ME!
That’s why I can speak from a bush on fire while leaving the bush in tact. I don’t need the bush’s leaves and sticks to keep the fire going. I can produce the fire out of nothing BECAUSE ALL FIRES COME FROM ME!
God is basically saying in this name that there is no one before me. No one that designed me. No one that made me. I AM FROM I AM. I AM OF I AM. I AM THAT I AM.
What does this mean? This means this God is 100% in control of everything.
God is not bothered by the attempts of evil men to thwart His plans.
The Psalmist writes in Psalm 115:3
3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.
I AM THAT I AM is not controlled by anyone nor does He defer to anyone.
In fact, we learn in Exodus that even in the most horrific and tragic of circumstances, God is orchestrating the terms of our deliverance.
Recall back in chapter 1 that when Israel’s number began to increase that Pharaoh moved out of sinful and unhealthy fear towards inhumane oppression.
He enslaved Israel but verse 12 says...
Exodus 1:12 (ESV)
12 ...the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel.
So He moved from oppression to infanticide. Verse 15
15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. 18 So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” 20 So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”
Again, we see how oppression works. Out of fear we become desperate. Out of sinful fear of losing control, we exert our power. And there is no being on the face of the earth more powerless than an infant.
I’ll seize this opportunity to mention that fear could lead to a corporate oppression with a KING ordering the infanticide of all the males of an entire race or that fear can even be individualized at an abortion clinic where the fear of not being able to provide and raise a child will lead to the taking of that child’s life.
There’s possibly a mother or a couple watching right now who may be wrestling with the fear and on the brink of taking a desperate step. Let me speak to you for a moment. No other command do we hear more in Scripture than the command to “FEAR NOT” but it is not just simply a command, it is a comfort. FEAR NOT for the Lord is WITH YOU! You don’t have to move in desperation. Rather that desperate step looks like abortion or whether it looks like making a terrible relationship mistake because you scared of being alone.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO FEAR. TURN TO I AM THAT I AM. HE WILL BE WITH YOU AND HE WILL PROVIDE!!!!! For the struggling single, HE WILL OFFER MUCH GRACE FOR YOU IN YOUR SINGLENESS. For the struggling mother to be, HE WILL OFFER PROVISION FOR YOU AND YOUR CHILD.
As hard as it may be, let encourage you to TURN YOUR EYES FROM YOUR LACK and TURN YOUR EYES TOWARDS THE ONE THEY CALL JEHOVAH JIRAH, GOD OUR PROVIDER.
We see even in this story in Exodus that God was standing sovereign over this attempt of Pharaoh to kill the child in which He had established His promise of deliverance in, but then chapter 2 happens...
1 Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. 4 And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. 5 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 9 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”
Not only is the child saved, but the child is moved into the very kingdom seeking His destruction. Why? BECAUSE I AM THAT I AM is SOVEREIGN OVER ALL THINGS INCLUDING THE DELIVERANCE OF HIS PEOPLE...
We see shades of this Exodus Story in The Gospel Story as the Sovereign God brings deliverance through the most horrific and tragic circumstances. In Exodus 2, The baby Moses found refuge in Egypt as Pharaoh sought to thwart God’s Plan of physical and temporal deliverance. In Matthew 2, we see the Baby Jesus find refuge in Egypt as Herod sought to thwart God’s Plan of eternal spiritual deliverance
I AM THAT I AM WOULD NOT LET HIS PLAN BE STOPPED...
We also see God’s Sovereignty in seemingly tragic and horrific circumstances in Jesus death on a cross...
Jesus suffered a bloody death on trumped up charges by a mob egged on by leaders scared of losing power. An attempt to oppress the innocent spotless lamb.
Jesus’...
In ever single one of thes