Moses and the Sovereignty of God

Moses and the Sovereignty of God- Exodus 4

Each chapter we have read is building in anticipation and excitement. What began as a wonderful start, the people multiplying, has witnessed 400 years of oppressive slavery. God, the covenant-making God, promised to deliver His people.

We saw the very beginning of this deliverance with the birth of a special child, Moses, who experienced his own exodus into the wilderness when attempting to deliver God’s people his way.

What we see in this chapter is the sovereignty of God. His absolute rule and guidance over all for His purposes, His glory, and His people’s good. But this is a chapter that displays the panoramic view of Scripture as well, and in particular the book of Exodus. We learn this from Exodus 6:6-7 “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. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”

We also learn this from Exodus 9:16 “But for this purpose I have raised you [Pharaoh] up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”

You see, God’s sovereignty brings about glory for His great name. John Piper sets the table for us this morning,

“God is vastly greater and stranger and more glorious and more dreadful and more loving than we realize. Immersing ourselves in the ocean of his providence is meant to help us know him, fear him, trust him, and love him as we ought.”—John Piper, Providence, 15

We see in Exodus chapter 4:

God’s sovereign rule is over Substance, His Servants, and Sinners so that all may Know Him

I. God’s Sovereign Rule Over Substance- 4:1-9

Moses begins this chapter by telling God the people will not believe him. God already told him they would (3:18), Moses simply failed to believe God. And we do the same thing. God tells us He will never leave us (Matt. 28:20), and in times of difficulty we question God’s presence.

God provides three miracles to Moses to confirm their belief (4:5, 8-9). By substance I mean physical things. God tells Moses to use his staff, his hand, and water to perform some incredible miracles. The staff becomes a serpent, the hand leprous, and the water blood. These are all miraculous in that they are impossible under human power.

Imagine how crazy moms would be if their boys could transform sticks into snakes. Imagine how terrifying life would be if humans could give people life-ending diseases at will. Imagine how bloody it would be if humans could turn water into blood.

The point here is that God is sovereign over substance. Nothing is impossible for God and His holy will. God wields ultimate control over every single atom of creation. That is both terrifying and comforting. God’s sovereign rule over substance in order that we may know Him (9:16).

II. God’s Sovereign Rule Over His Servants- 4:10-17, 24-31

But God’s sovereignty extends to His servants. Moses is his servant, and Moses, like many of us, objects to God’s commands. He begins by stating his inability to communicate for God.

On a personal note, this has been the most encouraging passage of Scripture for me. When I first began to preach, I was terrified and always nervous. I still get nervous. But the Lord graciously guided me to this passage and reminded me, as He does with Moses, that He is with Moses (and with me).

But listen to God’s response to Moses’s objection. “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?”

God is sovereign over everything, including the mute, the deaf, the blind, and those who can see. Do you have health issues? God is sovereign over that. Do you have mental issues? God is sovereign over that. Do you have any issue? God rules and reigns over that, so that you may know Him.

Consider the words of Thomas Brooks, from his sermon, “The Mute Christian Under the Smarting Rod,”

“So many Christians, they eye the empty bottle, the cross, the burden that is at present upon them, and then they fall a-weeping, a-whining, a-complaining, a-repining, a-murmuring, as if they were utterly undone; and yet a well of water, a well of comfort, a well of refreshment, a well of deliverance is near, and their case is no way so sad, nor so bas as they imagine it to be.”—Thomas Brooks, The Mute Christian Under the Smarting Rod

What is the well of water, comfort, refreshment, and deliverance? God tells Moses, “I will be with your mouth...” I will be with you.

The next passage (24-26) covers what appears to be a story out of nowhere. But when you consider the context, particularly Gen. 17:1-14, all Israelite males were to be circumcised. It appears that Moses knew this and simply did not follow through with his own son. Zipporah is understandably upset with Moses. But even this odd story demonstrates that God demands and is owed complete obedience from His servants, even when they seem hard and unenjoyable. —BE PERFECT (Matt. 5:48, 1 Pet. 1:16)

VERSE 30 God continues to demonstrate His sovereignty over His servants by bringing Aaron to Moses and then all of them to the people of Israel. They believe, contrary to Moses’s objections, the words and signs given by Aaron, and they worshipped the Lord. They were knowing Him, in other words (9:16).

III. God’s Sovereign Rule Over Sinners- 4:18-23

This brings us to the final avenue over which God extends His sovereignty: sinners. If you remember, the bondage of Israel is described as : slave labor, bitter, heavy burdens, affliction, and oppression. It was terrible, and it was at the hands of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt (1:8). We remember too that God knew all of this and cared for His people (2:24-25). God told Moses that Egypt would not willingly let Israel go, that they would be compelled to let them go by a “mighty hand” (3:19).

Now comes the confrontation: go to Pharaoh. But God tells Moses something incredible: I will harden his heart. Pharaoh will harden his heart, his heart will be hardened, and God will harden his heart. These three ways all describe something marvelous and mysterious: God’s sovereignty. Remember Piper’s quote I referenced at the beginning?

“God is vastly greater and stranger and more glorious and more dreadful and more loving than we realize. Immersing ourselves in the ocean of his providence is meant to help us know him, fear him, trust him, and love him as we ought.”—John Piper, Providence, 15

God will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that all may know Him. He is sovereign over sinners.

Listen to these encouraging words from Piper,

“When we are in prison with Joseph or when our baby is in the crocodile-infested bulrushes with Moses or when we are despised by Pharaoh or when we receive 195 cumulative lashes with Paul (2 Cor. 11:24), or when we are on the cross with Jesus, the fact that God’s all-wise providence governs even the hatred of our persecutors is meant to put steel in the backbone of our faith and help us endure everything for the joy set before us (Heb. 12:2). “- John Piper, Providence, 445-446

God’s sovereign rule is over Substance, His Servants, and Sinners so that all may Know Him

All, including the saved and the lost. Which one are you? Are you His servant? Then relish His sovereign reign. Draw comfort from the endless well of His power, and majesty, and glory. Rejoice in those times of doubt, because God is sovereign.

Are you a sinner? Perhaps you think because you come to church regularly that you do not need a Savior. Or perhaps you think your own goodness can save you. Your heart is as hard as Pharaoh’s. Will you submit to the sovereign Lord?