Intimacy in Our Failures
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Intro; Last week when we started this series on Drawing Close to God, we first talked about accepting God’s plan for our life. We focused on Moses and God’s plan for him to be the deliverer for the nation of Israel from bondage in Egypt. God’s plan for Moses was first revealed in the scriptures in God’s covenant with Abram [Gen. 12-15]. And the key to accepting God’s purpose for our lives and drawing close to Him is faith!
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8a
Tonight we are going to look at “Intimacy in Our Failures”. Even when we fall short in our faith or get ahead of God, He still loves us and desires to complete His purpose in our lives, but He has to get us back in tune with Him to do so.
Text; Exodus 2:11-25
11 Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.
12 So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
13 And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why are you striking your companion?”
14 Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” So Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!”
15 When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. And they came and drew water, and they filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.
17 Then the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
18 When they came to Reuel their father, he said, “How is it that you have come so soon today?”
19 And they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he also drew enough water for us and watered the flock.”
20 So he said to his daughters, “And where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.”
21 Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses.
22 And she bore him a son. He called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.”
23 Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.
24 So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.
1. Moses’ Failure; 11-15
1. Moses’ Failure; 11-15
Grown- grown up, become strong, great, wealthy, important
Moses was a prince of Egypt, well educated in Egyptian culture possibly being groomed to be the next Pharoah.
22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.
Egypt had a highly developed civilization, and were particularly advanced in the areas of engineering, mathematics, and astronomy. They had a accurate calendar, they built cities and monuments still seen today, their priests and doctors mastered the art of embalming that is not even matched today with our technology, and they perfected a color system [pigmentation] that has not been duplicated even today.
Moses also had care/compassion for the Hebrew people because he was one of them. But Moses made a bad mistake because he let his emotions get to him.
[11b-12] Moses could have stopped the man and found out why he was beating the Hebrew. But Moses acted out in rage. Moses looked to see if anyone was watching, and then he killed the Egyptian officer and hid him in the sand.
23 “Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel.
24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian.
25 For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.
Moses must have known at this time by God that his purpose in life was to lead the people out of bondage [25]. But his failure was that he got ahead of God and tried to do it in his timing, his way! [40 years too early]
[13-14] Moses tries to reconcile two Hebrews fighting and his previous day murder was exposed. Sin always comes back to bite.
23 But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out.
2 For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.
13 He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
[15] Pharoah found out and Moses had to flee for his life. When our compassion for those in need turns to carnality, we have failed in faith. Good intentions don’t always lead to lawful actions!
2. Moses Fulfillment; 16-25
2. Moses Fulfillment; 16-25
God had to take Moses to the desert to fulfill his destiny or purpose in life. It is in the “deserts” of life, not the “palaces,” that we are drawn closer to God. Even though Moses is well educated, he has much to learn before God can use him.
[16-19] Moses again shows his compassion for oppressed people but this time without carnality of the flesh.
He stood up [sprang into action] against those shepherds who were taking advantage of the daughters of Reuel, priest of Midian, without killing anyone. And he also drew water for their flocks to drink.
Moses shows an attitude of compassionate justice and humble service. Two qualities imperative for a shepherd/leader.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
[20-22] Moses now is content to be the most educated shepherd in the middle of nowhere. God was developing Moses into the deliverer He needed him to be.
The desert developed humility in Moses. From the limelight to obscurity, from a prince in a palace to being the lowest rung on the social ladder, a shepherd. God also taught geography to Moses as he would one day lead Israel through this desert and patience to wait upon the Lord for 40 years.
God also blessed Moses with a wife and family in Midian which taught Moses responsibility.
Someone said, “Moses was 40 years in Egypt learning something; 40 years in the desert learning to be nothing; and 40 years in the wilderness proving God to be everything” (in James Boyce, Ordinary Men, 59). Think about that. He spent two years of preparation for every one year of ministry. By living in the wilderness, he learned to rely on God. By having a family, he learned to lead, guide, and discipline those he loved. By working with the Midianites, most likely as a shepherd, he developed skills to help him lead the Israelites out of their enslavement.
Merida, T. (2014). Exalting jesus in exodus (Ex 2:15–22). Holman Reference.
71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.
Many times God has to take our failures and afflict us that we will draw close to Him!
3. God’s Covenant; 23-25
3. God’s Covenant; 23-25
God’s covenant with Abram was never forgotten, the time had not just come yet. But when it did, God had Moses ready to fulfill his purpose for life.
God delays aren’t because of unconcern but times of preparation to fix our failures to fulfill His promises through us. What God has promised, He will perform. When the right time comes God goes to work!
14 Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!
Close;
A man whom many believe was the greatest American president is a good example. When he was 7 years of age, his family was forced out of their home, and he went to work. When he was 9, his mother died. He lost his job as a store clerk when he was 20. He wanted to go to law school, but he didn’t have the education. At age 23 he went into debt to be a partner in a small store. Three years later the business partner died, and the resulting debt took years to repay. When he was 28, after courting a girl for four years, he asked her to marry him, and she turned him down. On his third try he was elected to Congress, at age 37, but then failed to be re-elected. His son died at 4 years of age. When this man was 45, he ran for the Senate and lost. At age 47 he ran for the vice-presidency and lost. But at age 51 he was elected president of the United States.
The man was Abraham Lincoln, a man who learned to face discouragement and failure, and move beyond it. Did you know that it was Abraham Lincoln who, in the midst of the Civil War, in 1863, established the annual celebration of Thanksgiving? Lincoln had learned how important it is to stop and thank God in the midst of great difficulties. The failures that he faced developed maturity, patience, and perseverance in his life.
God also provides for us a place of preparation to develop our maturity. He did this for Moses and he does this for us. Moses needed to learn important lessons and the Lord provided an atmosphere for him to learn. He needed to learn dependence upon God rather than independence which got him into trouble. He needed to rely on the Lord rather than upon himself. We are in need of learning these same lessons.
Mattoon, R. (2007). Treasures from Exodus (Vol. 1, p. 37). Rod Mattoon.