From Palace King to Wilderness Shepherd
Exodus • Sermon • Submitted
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· 4 viewsWe usually have to die to our idea of what God is calling us to, to find God's real plan. It often moves us from plunging forward to learning to wait on God.
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Transcript
If I Could Just Sit With You Awhile
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ23x4kQoEQ
If I Could Just Sit With You Awhile
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ23x4kQoEQ
1 The Lord is a God who avenges. O God who avenges, shine forth. 2 Rise up, Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve. 3 How long, Lord, will the wicked, how long will the wicked be jubilant? 4 They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting. 5 They crush your people, Lord; they oppress your inheritance. 6 They slay the widow and the foreigner; they murder the fatherless. 7 They say, “The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob takes no notice.” 8 Take notice, you senseless ones among the people; you fools, when will you become wise? 9 Does he who fashioned the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see? 10 Does he who disciplines nations not punish? Does he who teaches mankind lack knowledge? 11 The Lord knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile. 12 Blessed is the one you discipline, Lord, the one you teach from your law; 13 you grant them relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked. 14 For the Lord will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance. 15 Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it.
Prayer
Opening Hymn
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17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.
Worship Set
22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action. 23 “When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. 24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. 25 Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. 26 The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’ 27 “But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? 28 Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.
Prayer Chorus/Prayer
Exodus Decoded video
Exodus Decoded video
From Palace King to Wilderness Shepherd
From Palace King to Wilderness Shepherd
I have always loved using those quaint little saying or idioms, though my family always laughed at me for never getting them correct. However, there is one I can usually say correctly and it is a great one for today’s sermon. “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry!” This is especially true when we take a call from God and run with it ahead of His instruction and timing. Moses had a good heart that wanted to serve God. He believed God had spared him to be a deliverer for his people, but he did what so many of us have done. We often take the call and rush forward ahead of God and cause delays. I cannot help but wonder how many people could be shared heartache if only we would learn to wait for God’s timing and instruction.
Before we read today’s passage, I want us to notice the lapse of time. You see, the Bible does not give every detail about a person’s life. The author’s just followed God’s inspiration to write about the significant moments. It is a good thing. If you think it is difficult to read through the Bible in a year, can you imagine what it would be like if it included every detail of history and everyone’s full personal stories?
Last week, we read of baby Moses’ being adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter and being wet nursed by his true mother until such time as he was weaned.
In Exodus 2:10 we find Pharaoh’s daughter naming baby Moses and then in the very next verse it says, “One day, after Moses had grown up...”. Later in the story we find enough details to realize that Moses must have been 40 years old when these events unfolded. So, go with me now to Exodus 2:11-25 where we find Moses as a 40-year-old man being concerned over the abuse of his people the Israelites.
11 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?” 14 The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well. 16 Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock. 18 When the girls returned to Reuel their father, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?” 19 They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 “And where is he?” Reuel asked his daughters. “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.” 21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. 22 Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.” 23 During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. 25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.
The Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
Prayer
II. From Palace King to Wilderness Shepherd
II. From Palace King to Wilderness Shepherd
It is difficult to watch people you love suffer, but just how far are you willing to go to stop their suffering? Often time, we watch people suffer from disease or illnesses and we feel helpless. But what if someone were beating someone you love? How far would you be willing to go to stop it. Not many of us have had to face this, but we sympathize with those who have.
Corrie Ten Boom was one who had to face this situation and her story was made public in a movie called, “The Hiding Place.”
There is a bloody scene in the film version of The Hiding Place that illustrates the danger of answering violence with violence. The movie shows how two Dutch Christians—Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsie—were taken to the Nazi concentration camp at Ravensbrück, where they were imprisoned for harboring Jews in their home. One day as Betsie was savagely attacked by one of the guards for not meeting her work quota, Corrie imagined taking a pickax and hacking the Nazi to death. By this point in the film there is hardly a member of the audience who would not be willing to grab an axe-handle and help. But that is not the way God wants his people to combat evil. As Betsie said to her sister, “No hate, Corrie, no hate.” Hatred is not the way of the cross; nor is violence the way of Christ, who said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matt. 5:38, 39).
People are all created in the image of God and only God has the right to say when someone should be killed. And sometimes God does lead us to do so. We will see this when we get to the book of Joshua and God instructs the Israelites to go to war against the people of the land. But in this event, that is not the case.
Let us begin where Moses is at in Egypt. He is living in the lap of luxury learning to be a king. We begin by looking at some of the lessons Moses needs to learn while in Egypt.
A. Lessons learned in Egypt.
A. Lessons learned in Egypt.
We already know that Moses was learning to lead and rule people. But there were lessons that he needed to learn about following God. Like so many of us, Moses had to learn some lessons the hard way. We see this when...
1. Moses Takes it Upon Himself to Deliver His People. VV 11-12
1. Moses Takes it Upon Himself to Deliver His People. VV 11-12
To fully understand what is taking place, we need to understand other passages that speak into this moment. God’s Word is sometimes a bit of a puzzle that you have to find the pieces and put them in place in order to find the fuller picture.
In this case, we need to look at the book of Acts and the book of Hebrews.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. 25 Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not.
In reading these passages, you should have an Aha moment. You see, Moses already believed that God had spared him as a child to deliver his people from the bondage of Egyptian slavery. With this in mind, look once again at Exodus 2:11-12.
11 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
Reading this you get the impression that this is the first time he had done this. It is difficult to know if it was the first time or not, but allow me to speculate.
Up to this point, Moses has been groomed to be a ruler over Egypt. In fact, there are extrabiblical historians that say he had already lead the Egyptian army in a huge victory against the Ethiopians. He as known as a bold military strategist. It is easy to think that Moses may have believed this would be the avenue that God would lead him to deliver his people.
Moses has been busy with the duties placed upon him, but one day it is quiet and he is once again contemplating how he is to save his people. He takes it into his head to go see them and how they are faring. As he does, he witnesses this Egyptian beating one of the Hebrews and it makes him angry. He thinks, “Something has to be done. I have been waiting for a sign and perhaps this is it.” He looks around and no one appears to be watching. Note, that this action was not taken in red anger, but was cool and calculated. Moses was clear enough of mind to look around to see if anyone was watching.
When he felt it was safe for him to do so, he strikes, killing the Egyptian. Moses as a ruler of Egypt had the right to take action, but not against an Egyptian for the sake of a Hebrew. This action would be deemed treason even if he were a true son of Pharaoh.
Moses then buries the body so that it will not be easily found. He finds a sandy place that can be dug quickly before he could be caught and he disposes of the body.
Now Moses is not the only person to make the mistake of taking a call from God and moving forward in their own will. This is not even the first time I have preached on this subject, because I believe this is such an important point. In my past, I did the same thing and I have seen many other people do the same.
The mistake is believing that God calls us and then we need to find a way to make God’s call a reality. However, it is not our place to make it happen it is God’s place. When God calls, we need to listen and wait until He tells us to move. Next week, we will see that Moses learns this lesson as well. I learned it and I know others that have learned it. The heartbreaking part is the people who have suffered and not learned it. Instead, they feel like God failed them and they never learn to listen to God. They either keep making the same mistake or they give up and accuse God of failing them. The truth is that they fail because they have never learned to fully listen to God and wait upon Him for further instructions.
Well at this point, I suspect Moses is feeling pretty good. He has finally taken some action and his people will see that he is on their side. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way and his feelings of accomplishment quickly turn into fear as is always the way of sin. Now we see...
2. Sinful Actions Never Accomplish God’s Purposes VV 13-14
2. Sinful Actions Never Accomplish God’s Purposes VV 13-14
13 The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?” 14 The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”
It is not the Hebrews that Moses was concerned about knowing, it was the Egyptians he wanted to keep it from. He wanted the Hebrews to know. Surely the Hebrew he defended would have known and Moses probably expected him to go to the others and say, “Hey, Moses is on our side. He will deliver us!” When Moses returned this next day, he probably expected some pats on the back and “thank you’s.” He was puffed up feeling pretty good about what he had done, but he was quickly deflated when he found that this was not the case. Look again at this account as described by Stephen.
26 The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’ 27 “But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?
Did you get that? He “pushed Moses aside.” This indicates disdain. There was probably jealousy on the parts of many for the riches that Moses had lived under. They were not seeing Moses as their deliverer. He was as much a foreigner to them as he was to Egypt. In fact, up to this point, Egypt has shown respect for Moses. They have accepted him declared him a ruler in their land and now the Hebrews probably hate him for it. They do not know that Moses has been plotting in his mind a means to free them. All they see is the wealth he lives with while they live as slaves.
Now, I want to pause here a moment and talk about sin. Moses disobeyed God’s command against murder given back in the early history of man. This was an obvious sin.
In the Nazarene church, we define sin as a rebellious act against God and God’s will. In other words, we rebel against God by not obeying God. However, sometimes we step out of God’s will inadvertently as we have not yet learned how to fully discern God’s will. Unfortunately, when we do so, there are still consequences, but it is the consequences that help recognize that we were not in the will of God in the first place. If we are smart, we learn from the experience and seek to learn how to discern God’s true will. As we seek God’s will, we learn to wait on God. I believe this is one of the most important lessons we can learn as a Christian.
The next thing we can learn from Moses is that...
3. Sin always leads to fear and despair. V 15
3. Sin always leads to fear and despair. V 15
And this is just exactly where Moses is. His worst fear becomes realized.
15 When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well.
In most cases, the Pharaoh would send out his guards to arrest a person accused of murder, but in this case Pharaoh tries to kill Moses himself. Why? Because he has felt betrayed by someone he had freely adopted as a son. He has groomed Moses for leadership and he has had high hopes for this adopted son, but now this child who he had allowed to live has betrayed him and he wants Moses destroyed. All the hatred he had to bear against the Hebrews is brought to bear upon Moses. Moses fear was justified and he had no choice but to flee with only the shirt on his back. And keep in mind, he would have been clothed as an Egyptian, not a Hebrew. His clothes would have been of the royal kind. His hair would have been in Egyptian fashion and he may have even worn jewelry befitting a prince of Egypt unless the Pharaoh had had time to rip them off him.
Can you imagine his thoughts has he crossed that desert? He would have felt like an utter failure. He had failed God. He had failed his people. He had nothing left. You can just imagine the despair he felt.
I understand it. I had felt called to ministry as a young child, but in my 20’s when I had a child out of wedlock I felt like I had completely blown the plans God had for my life. I did not give up on God but I expected to live God’s second best plan for my life never able to know the true plan He had for me.
I suspect Moses felt the some way. However, God was not done with Moses, me or anyone else in this situation.
God had used Egypt to teach and prepare Moses in many ways, but now God had lessons for Moses to learn in the Wilderness. So, let us look at the...
B. Lessons learned in the Wilderness.
B. Lessons learned in the Wilderness.
It all begins at a well. Some estimate that it would have taken Moses approximately 18 days or so to reach Midian. It would have been a difficult trip and I suspect he looked quite disheveled by the time he reached that well. He probably didn’t smell too great either.
Moses probably set out this direction on purpose. He headed in the direction from which his people had originally come and he comes upon Midianites who are distant relatives of the Hebrews.
Can you imagine how out of place this singular Egyptian, in disheveled royal clothing would have looked? And this is where we take up his story in this wilderness area.
16 Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock.
These Israelite men are always very courteous to the women they meet. Remember Jacob and how he removed a heavy stone from the well for Rachel? In that case, men were waiting for enough of them to arrive to remove the stone together, but Jacob dismisses them and all on his own he removes the stone for Rachel. Now, we find Moses, coming to the aid of these women by driving off men who were probably daily harassing and bullying them. You see, sheepherding was considered men’s work. But Reuel had no sons and had to depend on his daughters to do so. How amazed these girls must have been by this brave act on the part of this stranger. They rushed to tell their father and he knew a good deal when he heard it. A father desperate for a son was always on the lookout for good husband material, no matter what he smelled like.
18 When the girls returned to Reuel their father, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?” 19 They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 “And where is he?” Reuel asked his daughters. “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.”
Note his question to his daughters. “Why are you early?” They are earlier than usual because they did not have to take the abuse of the other shepherds on this day due to Moses intervention. Not only that, but Moses would have the strength to water the flock much faster.
The next thing you see is Moses quickly moves from dinner guest to son-in-law. Reuel was not about to let this prospect get away and Moses had nowhere else to call home.
21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. 22 Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”
I have observed an important pattern in Moses life and the lives of others like me who have jumped ahead of God and it is this.
1. When our plans fail, we often settle in a desert.
1. When our plans fail, we often settle in a desert.
Moses had tried his best to fulfill God’s goal, but he failed because he took matters into his own hands and therefore out of God’s. Moses would spend 40 years in this desert before he would come to learn how to truly follow God. For me, it was more like 15-20 years. During that time, I thought I had destroyed any chance of being in service to God and I suspect Moses felt the same way.
However, there is another truth that can be learned here and it is this.
2. When we come to the end of ourselves in the desert, God can finish preparing us for His purpose.
2. When we come to the end of ourselves in the desert, God can finish preparing us for His purpose.
When we are living in the desert, we often feel we are living a long way from God, but the truth is that God is still preparing us for the work He had called us to do.
While Moses was living in the wilderness, God was teaching him important skills he would need to have to successfully accomplish God’s call.
a. Moses was learning to depend on God daily.
a. Moses was learning to depend on God daily.
Moses no longer had the wealth of Egypt at his beck and call. He lived the hard life of a shepherd. He felt he had failed God, but he obviously had not given up on living a life with God. This becomes obvious later on. So, it is safe to assume he is learning to live depending on God. We also learn later on that Reuel is a priest of God. So, God is using Reuel to teach Moses about living and serving God.
b. Moses is learning how to lead a family.
b. Moses is learning how to lead a family.
When it comes time to cross that desert with the Hebrews, it will not be soldiers that Moses is leading but families. Moses is learning what it is like to be a husband and father. He is learning the needs of wives and children, and what they can and cannot do. This will make him sensitive to their needs when it comes time to leave Egypt.
c. Moses is learning what it takes to survive in a desert.
c. Moses is learning what it takes to survive in a desert.
Moses had lives comfortably in Egypt, but what did he really know about surviving in the desert. As a Midian shepherd, he is learning where to look for water, how to find and preserve food in the wilderness. What animals to be aware of and how to treat wounds and snake bites and the like.
Moses believes he has destroyed his chance to serve God in delivering his people, but the real story is that God is finally able to finish his training to do just that.
The chapter ends with a teaser that alludes to the fact that Moses is not finished. We see at fade out at verse 22.
22 Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”
And then a focus in back in Egypt. This writing is a film makers dream as Cecil B Demille recognized.
23 During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. 25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.
God did not forget them. He knew they were suffering, but the time wasn’t right yet. God had to prepare Moses to be able to meet the demands of leading His people out of Egypt.
Conclusion:
Where are you in your story? Have you taken time to determine what God is calling you to? Everyone has a call of some kind, but we have to be connected with God through prayer, the reading of God’s Word and listening to find what the call is. Some do not discover it until they are in their retirement years.
The Nazarene church recognized this and began the Nazarene Bible College for just such an occasion. We have many Liberal Art Colleges that kids out of high school can attend and follow a call into some field that God is calling them to, especially part or full-time ministry, though I would argue we all have a full-time call to ministry.
However, the Church of the Nazarene recognized that many were becoming Christians or maturing as Christians and finding God calling them in later years. It was difficult to get the educations they needed while supporting wives and children, so the church designed a college to help people in later years get the education they need. It has gotten even easier than it was in the beginning since so much education has gone online.
If you do know what God is calling you to, have you come to the end of yourself enough that He can do the work in you and through you?
Have you learned to wait on God and not move until He says to. This is so very important, I cannot stress it enough. When the time is right, we will know it. Things fall into place without us manipulating them to get there.
I told someone this week that it still amazes me that as flawed as I am, God still seems to be able to use me and I know He can do the same with you.
Once again, I encourage you to take time to just listen to God this week. Say a brief prayer acknowledging Him and His worth and then just sit and listen. If you keep working at this, you will be amazed when you suddenly find you are hearing God speak. It may not necessarily be an audible voice, it may just seem like an impression. Sometimes, it does feel like a voice or whisper in your mind. It is different for different people and at different times. Do not give up. There is such freedom and peace when we learn to hear God’s voice.
Pray