WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:04.820 Good morning. It's good to see all of you. For those of you who are new or visiting, 00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:07.600 my name is Sean. I'm one of the pastors of Trinity Cambridge Church. 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:14.880 We started a new sermon series in the book of Exodus last week. We are in chapter 2 today. 00:00:15.900 --> 00:00:20.420 So if you would turn with me to Exodus chapter 2. We'll go through the whole chapter together. 00:00:26.420 --> 00:00:29.039 Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:31.000 Amen. 00:00:38.859 --> 00:00:50.500 Heavenly Father, our sinful flesh and this sinful world is full of counter-messaging to your Word of truth. 00:00:50.500 --> 00:01:01.920 So we come humbly before you again that we might hear you speak to us in your Word, from your Word again. 00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:08.260 That we might walk by faith and not by sight. 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:15.099 That our lives might be governed by faith and not by cynicism and despair. 00:01:15.099 --> 00:01:25.739 So Lord, as we incline our ears, our hearts to you this morning, fill us with hope. 00:01:28.019 --> 00:01:30.399 Remind us of your love and your faithfulness. 00:01:32.439 --> 00:01:34.840 In Jesus' name we ask. Amen. 00:01:34.840 --> 00:01:41.140 Exodus chapter 2, verses 1 to 25. 00:01:47.700 --> 00:01:52.859 Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. 00:01:53.700 --> 00:01:55.859 The woman conceived and bore a son. 00:01:55.859 --> 00:02:01.239 And when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. 00:02:02.539 --> 00:02:10.080 When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. 00:02:11.020 --> 00:02:15.280 She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:19.900 And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. 00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:24.879 Now, the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:32.560 While her young woman walked beside the river, she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman and she took it. 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:35.840 When she opened it, she saw the child. 00:02:36.139 --> 00:02:37.860 And behold, the baby was crying. 00:02:38.759 --> 00:02:40.840 She took pity on him and said, 00:02:41.400 --> 00:02:43.659 This is one of the Hebrews' children. 00:02:43.659 --> 00:02:47.319 Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, 00:02:47.560 --> 00:02:52.280 Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew woman to nurse the child for you? 00:02:53.199 --> 00:02:55.159 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, 00:02:55.519 --> 00:02:55.699 Go. 00:02:56.579 --> 00:02:58.780 So the girl went and called the child's mother. 00:03:00.079 --> 00:03:01.599 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, 00:03:02.039 --> 00:03:06.159 Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages. 00:03:06.780 --> 00:03:09.219 So the woman took the child and nursed him. 00:03:10.039 --> 00:03:12.859 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, 00:03:12.860 --> 00:03:14.300 And he became her son. 00:03:14.980 --> 00:03:16.560 She named him Moses, 00:03:16.980 --> 00:03:19.940 Because, she said, I drew him out of the water. 00:03:21.380 --> 00:03:23.460 One day when Moses had grown up, 00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:26.220 He went out to his people and looked on their burdens. 00:03:26.580 --> 00:03:28.700 And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, 00:03:29.020 --> 00:03:30.060 One of his people. 00:03:30.060 --> 00:03:32.500 He looked this way and that, 00:03:32.620 --> 00:03:33.500 And seeing no one, 00:03:33.580 --> 00:03:36.020 He struck down the Egyptian and hit him in the sand. 00:03:37.060 --> 00:03:38.640 When he went out the next day, 00:03:38.740 --> 00:03:41.199 Behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. 00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:43.500 And he said to the man in the wrong, 00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:45.640 Why do you strike your companion? 00:03:46.500 --> 00:03:47.140 He answered, 00:03:47.780 --> 00:03:50.939 Who made you a prince and a judge over us? 00:03:51.460 --> 00:03:53.680 Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian? 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:58.200 Then Moses was afraid and thought, 00:03:58.719 --> 00:03:59.900 Surely the thing is known. 00:04:01.260 --> 00:04:04.460 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. 00:04:04.620 --> 00:04:07.360 But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:09.319 And he sat down by a well. 00:04:10.600 --> 00:04:13.319 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, 00:04:13.719 --> 00:04:17.500 And they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. 00:04:17.500 --> 00:04:20.300 The shepherds came and drove them away. 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:23.639 But Moses stood up and saved them and watered their flock. 00:04:24.339 --> 00:04:26.019 When they came home to their father, 00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:27.279 He said, 00:04:27.560 --> 00:04:30.240 How is it that you have come home so soon today? 00:04:31.060 --> 00:04:31.720 They said, 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:34.959 An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds 00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:36.980 And even drew water for us and watered the flock. 00:04:37.699 --> 00:04:38.579 He said to his daughters, 00:04:38.819 --> 00:04:39.959 Then where is he? 00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:42.120 Why have you left the man? 00:04:42.279 --> 00:04:43.860 Call him that he may eat bread. 00:04:43.860 --> 00:04:47.480 And Moses was content to dwell with the man. 00:04:47.660 --> 00:04:50.020 And he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah. 00:04:50.620 --> 00:04:52.240 She gave birth to a son. 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:54.500 And he called his name Gershom. 00:04:54.860 --> 00:04:55.480 For he said, 00:04:55.840 --> 00:04:58.759 I have been a sojourner in a foreign land. 00:04:59.939 --> 00:05:01.520 During those many days, 00:05:01.960 --> 00:05:03.120 The king of Egypt died. 00:05:03.660 --> 00:05:06.500 And the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery 00:05:06.500 --> 00:05:08.300 And cried out for help. 00:05:09.080 --> 00:05:12.560 Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:15.600 And God heard their groaning. 00:05:16.240 --> 00:05:19.079 And God remembered his covenant with Abraham, 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:19.879 With Isaac, 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:20.560 And with Jacob. 00:05:21.240 --> 00:05:23.600 God saw the people of Israel. 00:05:24.100 --> 00:05:25.920 And God knew. 00:05:27.300 --> 00:05:29.899 This is God's holy and authoritative word. 00:05:31.220 --> 00:05:32.879 At the end of chapter 1, 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:37.379 We saw Pharaoh escalating his oppression of the Israelite people. 00:05:37.379 --> 00:05:42.620 And when his wicked plan to kill off a large portion of the male babies, 00:05:42.719 --> 00:05:43.300 Hebrew babies, 00:05:43.379 --> 00:05:44.500 Using the midwives, 00:05:45.019 --> 00:05:45.500 Failed. 00:05:45.639 --> 00:05:47.860 Because the Hebrew midwives refused to obey Pharaoh 00:05:47.860 --> 00:05:49.439 And chose to obey God instead. 00:05:50.019 --> 00:05:51.699 He commanded all of the Egyptians, 00:05:52.259 --> 00:05:54.279 Every son that is born to the Hebrews, 00:05:54.500 --> 00:05:56.759 You shall cast into the Nile. 00:05:57.519 --> 00:06:00.639 So now he has mobilized all of the Egyptians 00:06:00.639 --> 00:06:05.240 To carry out this extrajudicial killing of all male Hebrew babies. 00:06:05.240 --> 00:06:08.079 And so in chapter 1, 00:06:08.180 --> 00:06:08.900 At every turn, 00:06:09.040 --> 00:06:12.620 Pharaoh's attempt to control and oppress God's people have failed. 00:06:12.920 --> 00:06:16.199 Because God's promise to Israel is continuing. 00:06:16.360 --> 00:06:18.360 The promise to protect and preserve them 00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:19.680 And to make them into a great nation. 00:06:20.560 --> 00:06:22.500 And so that raises a question now, 00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:26.319 With Pharaoh further escalating his oppression. 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:28.000 What will happen now? 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:30.740 Where is justice? 00:06:31.620 --> 00:06:34.560 Will God intervene to deliver his people from even this? 00:06:35.399 --> 00:06:39.420 And chapter 2 gives us the Bible's answer. 00:06:40.199 --> 00:06:43.439 And the main point of this passage is that God remembers his promises 00:06:43.439 --> 00:06:47.879 And raises up a priest to rescue his people from slavery. 00:06:48.399 --> 00:06:50.519 We're going to see Moses' identity as a priest, 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:51.379 As a king, 00:06:51.439 --> 00:06:52.139 As a sojourner, 00:06:52.399 --> 00:06:55.300 And how that points to Christ in this chapter. 00:06:56.120 --> 00:06:59.220 And the first thing we learn about Moses is that he was a priest. 00:06:59.220 --> 00:07:00.600 Because it tells us in verse 1, 00:07:00.600 --> 00:07:05.500 Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. 00:07:06.460 --> 00:07:10.780 The fact that Moses is born of a Levite father and mother is significant. 00:07:10.980 --> 00:07:13.960 Because later in the book of Numbers, which Moses also writes, 00:07:14.400 --> 00:07:18.680 The Levites are specially set apart for God to assist Aaron and his sons, 00:07:18.780 --> 00:07:19.200 The priests, 00:07:19.400 --> 00:07:20.900 With work around the tabernacle. 00:07:21.640 --> 00:07:24.420 There are people who God said after the Exodus 00:07:24.420 --> 00:07:27.020 That all of the firstborn males belong to him. 00:07:27.019 --> 00:07:29.379 And instead of having to, 00:07:29.719 --> 00:07:31.379 Taking the firstborn males for himself, 00:07:31.579 --> 00:07:34.099 He chooses to take the Levites in there instead. 00:07:34.159 --> 00:07:34.439 He says, 00:07:34.519 --> 00:07:37.620 The Levites belong to me as my special servants. 00:07:38.339 --> 00:07:39.879 And so Moses is one of those people, 00:07:39.959 --> 00:07:43.019 And that's significant because of the connection later to Christ. 00:07:43.859 --> 00:07:45.000 So far so good. 00:07:45.459 --> 00:07:47.279 But verse 2 introduces the problem. 00:07:48.159 --> 00:07:51.899 The woman conceived and bore a son. 00:07:51.899 --> 00:07:58.759 We find out in verse 4 that the baby boy, Moses, 00:07:58.919 --> 00:08:01.259 Already has an older sister named Miriam, 00:08:01.379 --> 00:08:03.179 And an older brother named Aaron. 00:08:03.879 --> 00:08:05.679 So this is not the woman's first baby, 00:08:06.099 --> 00:08:08.919 But these are the times in the past. 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:10.739 In the past it was fine to have babies. 00:08:11.560 --> 00:08:17.120 But right now is dangerous time for a Hebrew woman to have a male baby. 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:22.920 In these times, I mean, you can imagine the sinking feeling, 00:08:23.240 --> 00:08:25.660 You know, when after the painful labor, 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:28.660 They hold the baby in their arms, 00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:30.500 And they see that it's a boy, 00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:36.799 And then the joyful celebration gives way quickly to grief and panic. 00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:38.940 It's a boy! 00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:40.379 It's a boy! 00:08:40.519 --> 00:08:41.060 Praise God! 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:43.259 It's a boy! 00:08:43.259 --> 00:08:43.320 It's a boy! 00:08:43.320 --> 00:08:47.700 What do we do, honey? 00:08:52.360 --> 00:08:54.480 Oh, how I wish you were not a boy! 00:08:55.260 --> 00:08:57.260 How I wish you were born at another time! 00:08:57.640 --> 00:09:00.720 If only you were a girl in this day and age! 00:09:00.800 --> 00:09:01.640 And verse 2 continues, 00:09:01.720 --> 00:09:03.860 And when she saw that he was a fine child, 00:09:04.379 --> 00:09:06.120 She hid him three months. 00:09:07.100 --> 00:09:09.460 Of course, from the perspective of a loving parent, 00:09:09.780 --> 00:09:11.700 Every baby is a fine child. 00:09:11.700 --> 00:09:14.480 But here the word fine conveys, you know, 00:09:14.540 --> 00:09:18.379 Health, beauty, and general desirability. 00:09:19.620 --> 00:09:22.420 I mean, when babies are born nowadays at hospitals, 00:09:22.560 --> 00:09:24.379 They run APGAR tests. 00:09:24.600 --> 00:09:25.620 You guys have heard of this? 00:09:25.700 --> 00:09:27.540 I think you guys have all had APGAR tests. 00:09:28.120 --> 00:09:29.360 They poke the baby. 00:09:30.420 --> 00:09:33.980 Their reflexes see how active they are with arms and legs. 00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:35.300 They observe their breathing. 00:09:35.920 --> 00:09:37.720 Whether or not they have a vigorous cry. 00:09:38.080 --> 00:09:39.540 You know, they check their pulse. 00:09:39.539 --> 00:09:42.259 If it's over 100 beats per minute, then it's good. 00:09:42.379 --> 00:09:44.139 If it's less than that, it's not as good. 00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:45.659 And they score them. 00:09:45.799 --> 00:09:47.459 You know, how does their skin look? 00:09:47.539 --> 00:09:49.379 Is it, you know, reddish and ruddy? 00:09:49.459 --> 00:09:51.039 Or is it bluish and pale? 00:09:51.559 --> 00:09:52.980 And so they score them out of 10. 00:09:53.679 --> 00:09:57.139 It's an APGAR score to see how viable, how strong the baby is. 00:09:57.480 --> 00:10:00.399 So if you were to give Moses an APGAR test, 00:10:00.459 --> 00:10:01.459 He scored really high. 00:10:02.099 --> 00:10:03.039 That's what it means here. 00:10:03.099 --> 00:10:04.759 He was a fine child. 00:10:04.759 --> 00:10:07.319 The mother looked at this baby boy and thought, 00:10:07.580 --> 00:10:10.659 Okay, this boy will grow up and be a healthy man. 00:10:10.860 --> 00:10:11.919 He's strong. 00:10:12.360 --> 00:10:13.240 He is ruddy. 00:10:14.259 --> 00:10:17.360 So she hides the boy for three months 00:10:17.360 --> 00:10:20.379 so that her Egyptian neighbors would not find out 00:10:20.379 --> 00:10:21.939 that she gave birth to a boy. 00:10:22.580 --> 00:10:23.939 And these three months, can you imagine, 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:25.019 would have been very stressful 00:10:25.019 --> 00:10:27.240 because it's very hard to hide a baby 00:10:27.240 --> 00:10:29.460 because you can't control a baby. 00:10:29.659 --> 00:10:31.000 And a baby cries. 00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:32.639 And they cry very loudly. 00:10:32.639 --> 00:10:36.740 But somehow she manages to hide them for three months. 00:10:36.939 --> 00:10:38.460 But the baby's getting too big. 00:10:39.039 --> 00:10:40.559 You can't hide the baby any longer. 00:10:40.740 --> 00:10:42.259 And so the moment of reckoning is here. 00:10:42.819 --> 00:10:44.819 And she can't, as a loving mother, 00:10:45.080 --> 00:10:47.620 bear to see her son taken away by the Egyptians. 00:10:48.439 --> 00:10:50.860 And she could never hurt him herself. 00:10:51.460 --> 00:10:52.279 So it says in verse 3, 00:10:52.360 --> 00:10:55.819 She took for him a basket made of bulrushes 00:10:55.819 --> 00:10:57.460 and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. 00:10:57.879 --> 00:10:59.240 And she put the child in it 00:10:59.240 --> 00:11:01.299 and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. 00:11:01.299 --> 00:11:04.439 She weaves the basket together and waterproofs it 00:11:04.439 --> 00:11:06.159 and then floats it onto the river 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:07.419 and makes it caught in a reed 00:11:07.419 --> 00:11:09.659 so that it doesn't just drift into oblivion. 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:14.299 And technically, it's ironic. 00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:17.039 She's obeying Pharaoh's command. 00:11:17.719 --> 00:11:20.120 She's putting him into the Nile, 00:11:20.379 --> 00:11:22.219 but in a boat, right? 00:11:23.179 --> 00:11:25.399 And it's an ingenious solution. 00:11:25.399 --> 00:11:28.000 And the Hebrew word for basket 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:31.240 is used to refer to only two items 00:11:31.240 --> 00:11:32.360 in the entire Old Testament. 00:11:33.299 --> 00:11:37.740 It's Moses' basket and Noah's ark. 00:11:38.139 --> 00:11:39.419 It's the same word for ark. 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:42.899 So Noah's ark became the vehicle 00:11:42.899 --> 00:11:44.399 by which Noah and his family 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:46.179 and through them the entire humanity 00:11:46.179 --> 00:11:48.500 was saved from the deadly flood waters. 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:51.860 And now here, Moses' ark becomes the vehicle 00:11:51.860 --> 00:11:55.200 by which Moses is saved from the deadly waters of the Nile. 00:11:55.539 --> 00:11:57.659 And through Moses, God's chosen people too 00:11:57.659 --> 00:11:59.279 will be delivered from Egypt. 00:12:00.300 --> 00:12:01.500 And then it says in verse four 00:12:01.500 --> 00:12:03.320 that Moses' sister stood at a distance 00:12:03.320 --> 00:12:05.680 to know what would be done to him. 00:12:05.800 --> 00:12:06.960 So they're watching, 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:08.919 hoping that the exposed baby 00:12:08.919 --> 00:12:11.539 will be picked up by a compassionate Egyptian family 00:12:11.539 --> 00:12:13.899 who will bring him up as their own. 00:12:14.659 --> 00:12:16.060 It says in verses five to six, 00:12:16.059 --> 00:12:19.539 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river 00:12:19.539 --> 00:12:21.899 while her young woman walked beside the river. 00:12:22.159 --> 00:12:24.059 She saw the basket among the reeds 00:12:24.059 --> 00:12:25.979 and sent to her servant woman and she took it. 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:28.279 And when she opened it, she saw the child 00:12:28.279 --> 00:12:29.839 and behold, the baby was crying. 00:12:30.259 --> 00:12:32.959 She took pity on him and she opened it. 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:34.839 And she said, this is one of the Hebrews. 00:12:35.259 --> 00:12:36.379 Sorry, where am I? 00:12:36.739 --> 00:12:38.199 Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, 00:12:38.319 --> 00:12:40.439 shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew woman 00:12:40.439 --> 00:12:41.719 to nurse the child for you? 00:12:42.239 --> 00:12:43.639 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, go. 00:12:43.639 --> 00:12:46.519 And so the girl went and called the child mother. 00:12:47.539 --> 00:12:50.279 This is an incredible turn of events. 00:12:50.580 --> 00:12:52.919 I mean, this sister is quite the go-getter. 00:12:53.500 --> 00:12:55.259 She goes, she watches and goes, 00:12:55.340 --> 00:12:58.340 and then she says, hey, I happen to know a woman 00:12:58.340 --> 00:13:00.360 that can be a wet nurse for you. 00:13:00.580 --> 00:13:01.600 Can I go get her for you? 00:13:01.659 --> 00:13:03.899 And then she goes and gets Moses' mother. 00:13:04.799 --> 00:13:08.279 And so this is a great example of God's providence. 00:13:09.500 --> 00:13:11.720 Providence refers to how God governs 00:13:11.720 --> 00:13:14.700 and guides all of creation and all of history. 00:13:15.800 --> 00:13:17.920 You know, ironically, in God's providence, 00:13:18.060 --> 00:13:22.560 it's Pharaoh's own daughter that defies his father's command 00:13:22.560 --> 00:13:24.220 to cast these Hebrew boys into the Nile 00:13:24.220 --> 00:13:26.360 and then draws the boy out of the Nile. 00:13:26.940 --> 00:13:28.920 And ironically, it's Moses' own mother 00:13:28.920 --> 00:13:30.460 that gets to take care of Moses. 00:13:30.800 --> 00:13:32.960 And now she gets to get paid for it. 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:33.680 It's amazing. 00:13:33.679 --> 00:13:38.059 Only God could orchestrate something like that. 00:13:38.579 --> 00:13:41.339 God is still governing and guiding all creation, 00:13:41.459 --> 00:13:42.739 all of history today. 00:13:43.759 --> 00:13:45.519 Even through the ups and downs, 00:13:45.799 --> 00:13:47.500 twists and turns of our own lives, 00:13:47.979 --> 00:13:50.699 God is sovereignly working out his plan for us. 00:13:51.979 --> 00:13:54.539 And notice also how in both chapters one and two, 00:13:54.899 --> 00:13:58.659 highlights how God used the woman in particular 00:13:58.659 --> 00:14:00.799 to thwart Pharaoh's wicked plan 00:14:00.799 --> 00:14:02.559 to kill the Jewish male babies. 00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:06.259 In chapter one, it was the Hebrew midwives, 00:14:06.479 --> 00:14:07.319 Shiphrah and Puah, 00:14:07.439 --> 00:14:08.919 who defied the Pharaoh's command 00:14:08.919 --> 00:14:10.339 to kill the male Hebrew babies. 00:14:11.019 --> 00:14:12.019 Now in chapter two, 00:14:12.179 --> 00:14:14.679 it's Moses' mother and sister 00:14:14.679 --> 00:14:16.679 and Pharaoh's own daughter 00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:18.319 who defy Pharaoh's command. 00:14:19.759 --> 00:14:22.639 Pharaoh thinks he can't control the Jewish population 00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:24.699 simply by limiting the number of their men. 00:14:26.039 --> 00:14:28.419 But that turns out to be a miscalculation 00:14:28.419 --> 00:14:31.519 because the woman won't allow him 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:32.779 to carry out his evil plan. 00:14:34.779 --> 00:14:36.459 And they subvert Pharaoh's rule 00:14:36.459 --> 00:14:38.399 and defy the most powerful man 00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:39.699 in this part of the ancient world 00:14:39.699 --> 00:14:41.779 simply, and this is the amazing part, 00:14:42.120 --> 00:14:45.740 simply in their roles as midwives and mothers. 00:14:45.740 --> 00:14:49.960 Later, God will use a man, 00:14:50.200 --> 00:14:51.620 Moses, to confront Pharaoh 00:14:51.620 --> 00:14:53.220 and deliver Israel from their slavery. 00:14:53.820 --> 00:14:55.659 Moses only survived 00:14:55.659 --> 00:14:58.100 because God used a woman in his life 00:14:58.100 --> 00:14:59.500 to save him from Pharaoh. 00:15:00.600 --> 00:15:02.060 This is a wonderful illustration 00:15:02.060 --> 00:15:05.799 of what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11, 11 to 12. 00:15:05.799 --> 00:15:09.159 After teaching us that a man is the head of his wife, 00:15:09.259 --> 00:15:11.079 since the man was not made from the woman, 00:15:11.399 --> 00:15:12.519 but woman from man, 00:15:12.579 --> 00:15:14.479 and because the man was not created for the woman, 00:15:14.539 --> 00:15:15.419 but woman for man, 00:15:15.759 --> 00:15:16.959 Paul goes on to say this. 00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:17.379 He says, 00:15:17.819 --> 00:15:19.979 Nevertheless, in the Lord, 00:15:20.139 --> 00:15:22.240 woman is not independent of man, 00:15:22.299 --> 00:15:24.179 nor man of woman. 00:15:24.699 --> 00:15:26.779 For as woman was made from man, 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:29.479 so man is now born of woman, 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:31.919 and all things are from God. 00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:34.919 There is a wonderful complementarity 00:15:35.500 --> 00:15:37.779 in the way that God has designed man and woman. 00:15:39.159 --> 00:15:40.759 The woman was created from man 00:15:40.759 --> 00:15:41.779 to be the man's helper, 00:15:42.299 --> 00:15:46.039 but every man is first born of a woman as a son. 00:15:47.839 --> 00:15:51.199 I know Mother's Day is still two months away, 00:15:51.339 --> 00:15:53.740 and I probably will not have a special sermon for that 00:15:53.740 --> 00:15:54.259 that's different, 00:15:54.679 --> 00:15:55.939 so I'll talk about something here. 00:15:56.219 --> 00:15:58.759 We all have mothers who brought us into this world, 00:15:59.459 --> 00:16:01.899 and there are many mothers in our congregation 00:16:01.899 --> 00:16:07.720 and we should esteem what they do very, very highly. 00:16:11.579 --> 00:16:14.319 Even if the world does not often remember 00:16:14.319 --> 00:16:15.600 the contributions of mothers, 00:16:15.980 --> 00:16:18.759 we should remember that all history makers 00:16:18.759 --> 00:16:23.019 and all kingdom shakers had mothers who raised them. 00:16:25.559 --> 00:16:28.740 Childbearing and childrearing are not insignificant roles. 00:16:28.899 --> 00:16:31.340 The future of humanity depends on them. 00:16:31.899 --> 00:16:34.959 Verse 10 continues this incredible story. 00:16:35.100 --> 00:16:36.240 When the child grew older, 00:16:36.439 --> 00:16:38.480 she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, 00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:39.559 and he became her son. 00:16:39.620 --> 00:16:40.740 She named him Moses 00:16:40.740 --> 00:16:42.159 because she said, 00:16:42.319 --> 00:16:43.840 I drew him out of the water. 00:16:45.100 --> 00:16:48.139 So Pharaoh's daughter most likely did not speak Hebrew, 00:16:48.840 --> 00:16:51.799 and she would not have given her a Hebrew name. 00:16:51.799 --> 00:16:56.839 So the word Moses is likely an Egyptian name first. 00:16:57.339 --> 00:17:02.479 The word Moses or Moses is an Egyptian word that means born of. 00:17:02.819 --> 00:17:05.220 It's very common to find that word in Egyptian names, 00:17:05.639 --> 00:17:07.839 or born of, son of something. 00:17:08.480 --> 00:17:09.119 So for example, 00:17:09.259 --> 00:17:11.779 various pharaohs from around the same time period 00:17:11.779 --> 00:17:13.799 have names that contain the word Moses. 00:17:13.799 --> 00:17:17.680 So Amos means born of, 00:17:17.740 --> 00:17:18.759 or son of Ah, 00:17:18.980 --> 00:17:20.079 the Egyptian god of the moon. 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:22.779 Thutmos means son of Thuth, 00:17:23.319 --> 00:17:25.659 the Egyptian god of wisdom and writing, 00:17:25.819 --> 00:17:26.639 science and magic. 00:17:27.180 --> 00:17:29.619 Ramesses means son of Ra, 00:17:29.759 --> 00:17:31.639 the Egyptian god of the sun. 00:17:31.919 --> 00:17:33.519 So there are two main possibilities 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:35.879 for the interpretation of the meaning Moses. 00:17:35.880 --> 00:17:38.580 So first possibility is this. 00:17:38.680 --> 00:17:42.980 Since the Egyptian hieroglyphic for water was Mo also, 00:17:43.720 --> 00:17:46.380 Moses' name could simply mean born of water 00:17:46.380 --> 00:17:50.160 because he was taken out of the water. 00:17:51.100 --> 00:17:53.980 Second possibility is that Moses' name simply means 00:17:53.980 --> 00:17:57.180 born of without the attribution 00:17:57.180 --> 00:17:59.720 because he was an orphan, 00:17:59.900 --> 00:18:01.000 an exposed child, 00:18:01.360 --> 00:18:02.140 a foundling, 00:18:02.360 --> 00:18:03.200 an abandoned child. 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:05.640 So he's not a born of anything, 00:18:05.880 --> 00:18:07.080 he's a born of, 00:18:07.400 --> 00:18:08.740 son of nobody, 00:18:09.580 --> 00:18:10.100 Moses. 00:18:10.760 --> 00:18:11.200 Moses. 00:18:15.360 --> 00:18:17.440 But that's what's important for us 00:18:17.440 --> 00:18:21.200 is not the name that Pharaoh's daughter gave him, 00:18:21.280 --> 00:18:24.440 but the connection that the Bible makes to Moses, 00:18:24.820 --> 00:18:26.000 his person and his, 00:18:26.120 --> 00:18:27.120 what he will do in the future. 00:18:27.180 --> 00:18:28.500 Because if you look at the footnote 00:18:28.500 --> 00:18:29.540 at the end of verse 10 00:18:29.540 --> 00:18:31.360 in your English Standard Version Bibles, 00:18:31.360 --> 00:18:34.440 it says that Moses sounds like the Hebrew 00:18:34.440 --> 00:18:36.120 for draw out. 00:18:37.720 --> 00:18:38.960 It's quite ironic 00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:41.120 because Moses was cast into the Nile 00:18:41.120 --> 00:18:41.820 because of Pharaoh, 00:18:41.980 --> 00:18:44.640 but his name means drawn out of the Nile 00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:45.720 because of God. 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:47.980 And God will later use Moses 00:18:47.980 --> 00:18:50.240 to draw out his people 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:51.580 from the water, 00:18:51.759 --> 00:18:53.080 through the water, 00:18:53.180 --> 00:18:53.759 the Red Sea. 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:56.759 Isaiah 63, 11 to 12 00:18:56.759 --> 00:18:58.740 makes this connection explicit 00:18:58.740 --> 00:19:01.079 and plays on the word Moses, 00:19:01.140 --> 00:19:01.839 the name Moses. 00:19:02.019 --> 00:19:03.779 Then he remembered the days of old 00:19:03.779 --> 00:19:05.859 of Moses and his people. 00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:10.900 Where is he who brought them up out of the sea, 00:19:11.460 --> 00:19:12.279 drew them out, 00:19:12.339 --> 00:19:14.120 this word play on the same name Moses, 00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:15.920 with the shepherds of his flock. 00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:18.140 Where is he who put in the midst of them 00:19:18.140 --> 00:19:19.079 his Holy Spirit, 00:19:19.140 --> 00:19:20.420 who caused his glorious arm 00:19:20.420 --> 00:19:22.120 to go at the right hand of Moses, 00:19:22.120 --> 00:19:24.299 who divided the waters before them 00:19:24.299 --> 00:19:25.099 to make for himself 00:19:25.099 --> 00:19:26.960 an everlasting name. 00:19:27.579 --> 00:19:30.359 So already in the name of Moses, 00:19:30.559 --> 00:19:33.259 we see God's destiny for him. 00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:36.180 He is going to draw out his people 00:19:36.180 --> 00:19:36.899 from the water. 00:19:41.700 --> 00:19:43.180 Pharaoh's edict 00:19:43.180 --> 00:19:45.319 to kill the male babies at birth 00:19:45.319 --> 00:19:47.099 could not thwart God's plan for Moses. 00:19:47.579 --> 00:19:49.579 Being exposed as an infant 00:19:49.579 --> 00:19:52.019 could not thwart God's plan for Moses. 00:19:52.019 --> 00:19:54.700 Growing up in Pharaoh's household 00:19:54.700 --> 00:19:57.180 could not thwart God's plan for Moses. 00:19:57.660 --> 00:19:58.940 Moses will be the one 00:19:58.940 --> 00:20:00.740 who draws God's people out of the water. 00:20:02.059 --> 00:20:02.660 Likewise, 00:20:03.379 --> 00:20:05.319 God's sovereign plan for us 00:20:05.319 --> 00:20:06.700 cannot be thwarted. 00:20:07.740 --> 00:20:09.240 So we don't need to worry 00:20:09.240 --> 00:20:10.759 that we've missed a time 00:20:10.759 --> 00:20:13.819 or irreparably messed up our lives 00:20:13.819 --> 00:20:16.119 because we can keep following the Lord, 00:20:16.299 --> 00:20:18.059 trusting that his sovereign purposes 00:20:18.059 --> 00:20:19.940 for us will prevail. 00:20:19.940 --> 00:20:20.940 So... 00:20:20.940 --> 00:20:25.940 Verses 1 to 10 told us 00:20:25.940 --> 00:20:27.120 about Moses' childhood. 00:20:27.440 --> 00:20:29.240 The word child is used seven times there. 00:20:29.640 --> 00:20:30.960 Now in verses 11 to 15, 00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:33.340 we learn of Moses' adulthood in Egypt 00:20:33.340 --> 00:20:35.700 and here the word man is used seven times. 00:20:35.779 --> 00:20:37.039 It says in verses 11 to 12, 00:20:37.340 --> 00:20:39.100 one day when Moses had grown up, 00:20:39.180 --> 00:20:40.259 he went out to his people 00:20:40.259 --> 00:20:41.400 and looked on their burdens 00:20:41.400 --> 00:20:43.259 and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, 00:20:43.660 --> 00:20:44.840 one of his people. 00:20:45.480 --> 00:20:46.920 And he looked this way and that 00:20:46.920 --> 00:20:47.660 and seeing no one, 00:20:47.720 --> 00:20:48.700 he struck down the Egyptian 00:20:48.700 --> 00:20:49.779 and hid him in the sand. 00:20:50.600 --> 00:20:52.299 So we know from Stephen's speech 00:20:52.299 --> 00:20:53.440 in Acts 7.23 00:20:53.440 --> 00:20:56.220 that Moses was 40 years old at this time. 00:20:56.960 --> 00:20:57.860 So despite the fact 00:20:57.860 --> 00:21:00.620 that he spent 40 years in Pharaoh's court 00:21:00.620 --> 00:21:01.920 and grew up in Egypt, 00:21:02.100 --> 00:21:03.380 getting Egyptian education, 00:21:04.019 --> 00:21:05.680 Moses does not see himself 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:06.680 as an Egyptian. 00:21:08.200 --> 00:21:09.039 Verse 11 says, 00:21:09.039 --> 00:21:10.680 he went out to his people 00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:13.400 and looked on their burdens 00:21:13.400 --> 00:21:16.640 and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, 00:21:16.900 --> 00:21:18.640 one of his people. 00:21:19.360 --> 00:21:21.320 So Israelites are slaving away 00:21:21.320 --> 00:21:22.220 under Egyptian oppression 00:21:22.220 --> 00:21:24.740 and it seems Moses is indignant. 00:21:24.900 --> 00:21:27.640 He has anger at this injustice. 00:21:29.780 --> 00:21:32.100 Perhaps he feels some guilt as well. 00:21:32.220 --> 00:21:33.360 I mean, the way it's phrased, right? 00:21:33.400 --> 00:21:37.800 He sees his people bearing their burdens. 00:21:37.960 --> 00:21:40.420 It doesn't say their burdens together, 00:21:40.519 --> 00:21:41.380 like with him. 00:21:41.380 --> 00:21:43.180 Moses is not sharing any of their burdens. 00:21:44.140 --> 00:21:45.880 He's enjoying the comfort of a life 00:21:45.880 --> 00:21:46.880 in Pharaoh's household. 00:21:48.320 --> 00:21:49.620 So maybe he feels some guilt 00:21:49.620 --> 00:21:50.860 looking at what the Israelites 00:21:50.860 --> 00:21:51.520 are going through. 00:21:51.640 --> 00:21:53.360 And so he looks around 00:21:53.360 --> 00:21:54.940 to make sure there are no witnesses 00:21:54.940 --> 00:21:57.080 and then he strikes. 00:21:57.480 --> 00:21:59.660 The Egyptian man kills him. 00:22:03.980 --> 00:22:05.820 There's a contrast here. 00:22:05.880 --> 00:22:08.200 The word for beat and strike, 00:22:08.820 --> 00:22:09.860 there are different translations, 00:22:10.019 --> 00:22:10.779 the same Hebrew word. 00:22:10.820 --> 00:22:13.160 So the Egyptian man was beating the Hebrew 00:22:13.160 --> 00:22:16.240 and Moses beats the Egyptian man. 00:22:16.299 --> 00:22:18.360 So there's a comparison there. 00:22:18.620 --> 00:22:20.400 But the difference is the outcome. 00:22:21.039 --> 00:22:23.220 Moses' response is disproportionate 00:22:23.220 --> 00:22:24.680 because the Egyptian man 00:22:24.680 --> 00:22:25.900 didn't kill that Hebrew man, 00:22:26.220 --> 00:22:27.620 but Moses kills the man. 00:22:30.480 --> 00:22:31.779 No doubt that Moses 00:22:31.779 --> 00:22:33.380 had some good intentions here. 00:22:33.460 --> 00:22:34.319 He wanted to intervene 00:22:34.319 --> 00:22:35.860 on behalf of an oppressed brother. 00:22:36.339 --> 00:22:38.039 However, it was still wrong for him 00:22:38.039 --> 00:22:40.740 to take things into his own hands 00:22:40.740 --> 00:22:41.740 and murder the Egyptian. 00:22:41.740 --> 00:22:45.240 It's not true in our own lives. 00:22:45.299 --> 00:22:46.920 When we take things into our own hands, 00:22:47.019 --> 00:22:49.460 often things spiral out of control even more. 00:22:51.299 --> 00:22:52.980 It says in verses 13 to 14, 00:22:53.120 --> 00:22:54.339 when he went out the next day, 00:22:54.400 --> 00:22:56.299 behold, two Hebrews were struggling together 00:22:56.299 --> 00:22:58.279 and he said to the man in the wrong, 00:22:58.420 --> 00:23:00.180 why do you strike your companion? 00:23:00.660 --> 00:23:01.299 He answered, 00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:03.920 who made you a prince and a judge over us? 00:23:04.160 --> 00:23:05.279 Do you mean to kill me 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:06.200 as you killed the Egyptian? 00:23:07.319 --> 00:23:08.839 Then Moses was afraid and thought, 00:23:08.980 --> 00:23:10.400 surely the thing is known. 00:23:10.400 --> 00:23:12.660 So this time it's two Hebrew men 00:23:12.660 --> 00:23:14.320 arguing and fighting 00:23:14.320 --> 00:23:16.780 and Moses makes a quick judgment 00:23:16.780 --> 00:23:18.420 that one person is in the wrong 00:23:18.420 --> 00:23:19.920 and he confronts the man 00:23:19.920 --> 00:23:21.300 that he perceives to be in the wrong, 00:23:21.400 --> 00:23:22.240 says, hey, stop. 00:23:22.340 --> 00:23:23.860 Why are you striking your companion? 00:23:24.360 --> 00:23:25.380 That could also be translated 00:23:25.380 --> 00:23:27.640 your compatriot or your comrade, 00:23:28.280 --> 00:23:29.519 your own people. 00:23:29.900 --> 00:23:31.019 Why are you hurting him? 00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:35.820 And then the man retorts to him, 00:23:36.240 --> 00:23:37.019 who are you? 00:23:38.560 --> 00:23:40.140 You're an Egyptian prince. 00:23:40.880 --> 00:23:42.100 You're not our prince. 00:23:42.660 --> 00:23:44.000 You're not our ruler. 00:23:44.380 --> 00:23:45.460 You're not our judge. 00:23:54.340 --> 00:23:57.420 Moses, Stephen says in Acts 7.25, 00:23:58.720 --> 00:24:00.620 wanted his brothers to think 00:24:00.620 --> 00:24:02.840 that God was raising them up 00:24:02.840 --> 00:24:04.120 to save them in this time, 00:24:04.320 --> 00:24:06.980 but he took things into his own hands. 00:24:07.720 --> 00:24:08.680 It was not the time. 00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:11.099 It was not the way to do it. 00:24:15.319 --> 00:24:16.839 If he's gonna lead God's people, 00:24:16.920 --> 00:24:18.440 it will not be as Pharaoh's grandson. 00:24:18.860 --> 00:24:20.740 It will be as the descendant 00:24:20.740 --> 00:24:22.980 of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 00:24:24.420 --> 00:24:25.720 So verse 14 tells us 00:24:25.720 --> 00:24:26.680 that Moses was afraid 00:24:26.680 --> 00:24:28.079 and thought surely the thing is known. 00:24:28.079 --> 00:24:31.299 And so when Pharaoh finds out 00:24:31.299 --> 00:24:32.159 and tries to kill him, 00:24:32.559 --> 00:24:33.699 he flees to Midian. 00:24:35.139 --> 00:24:38.039 Midian is in modern-day Gulf of Aqaba, 00:24:38.259 --> 00:24:39.619 which is just at the northern tip 00:24:39.619 --> 00:24:40.299 of the Red Sea. 00:24:41.679 --> 00:24:42.559 And can you imagine 00:24:42.559 --> 00:24:44.099 Moses' disillusionment 00:24:44.099 --> 00:24:46.740 and disappointment in Midian? 00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:49.159 He was once a prince of Egypt. 00:24:49.879 --> 00:24:51.220 He grew up in Pharaoh's court, 00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:52.279 but now he's a murderer. 00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:55.539 He's a fugitive fleeing for his life. 00:24:56.039 --> 00:24:57.240 He is destitute. 00:24:57.420 --> 00:24:58.819 He's got nothing to his name. 00:24:58.899 --> 00:25:00.259 He has no roof over his head, 00:25:00.359 --> 00:25:01.960 no means of providing for himself 00:25:01.960 --> 00:25:04.079 in a foreign land to boot. 00:25:04.779 --> 00:25:05.599 He has no family. 00:25:06.180 --> 00:25:07.700 His prospects are dim. 00:25:09.480 --> 00:25:10.680 And his aspiration 00:25:10.680 --> 00:25:12.119 of rescuing God's people 00:25:12.119 --> 00:25:13.420 from their oppression in Egypt 00:25:13.420 --> 00:25:14.779 seems all but doomed. 00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:16.920 But as we will find out, 00:25:16.940 --> 00:25:17.940 it's not all over 00:25:17.940 --> 00:25:20.639 because during Moses' sojourn in Midian, 00:25:20.640 --> 00:25:22.340 God humbles and grows Moses 00:25:22.340 --> 00:25:23.160 as a man of God 00:25:23.160 --> 00:25:25.500 and blesses him with a family. 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:27.720 We know that he spends 00:25:27.720 --> 00:25:29.020 40 years in Midian. 00:25:29.580 --> 00:25:31.380 We know that because of Exodus 7-7, 00:25:31.460 --> 00:25:32.780 which tells us that Moses was 80 00:25:32.780 --> 00:25:34.020 when he confronted Pharaoh. 00:25:35.080 --> 00:25:36.220 So those 40 years 00:25:36.220 --> 00:25:39.200 could not have been easy years for Moses. 00:25:39.480 --> 00:25:40.980 I mean, 40 years of feeling 00:25:40.980 --> 00:25:42.259 like you don't quite belong 00:25:42.259 --> 00:25:43.600 in a foreign land. 00:25:44.220 --> 00:25:45.600 Midianites think I'm an Egyptian. 00:25:45.940 --> 00:25:47.560 The Egyptians think that I'm a Jew. 00:25:47.840 --> 00:25:48.480 Who am I? 00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:50.900 Where do I belong? 00:25:51.599 --> 00:25:53.519 40 years of being frustrated 00:25:53.519 --> 00:25:54.880 that there's nothing he could do 00:25:54.880 --> 00:25:55.599 about the oppression 00:25:55.599 --> 00:25:57.000 of his own people in Egypt. 00:25:57.240 --> 00:25:58.740 What am I doing here? 00:25:58.960 --> 00:26:00.380 I'm wasting my life. 00:26:00.579 --> 00:26:02.279 What's my purpose in life? 00:26:05.220 --> 00:26:06.480 But those 40 years 00:26:06.480 --> 00:26:07.519 are not wasted years. 00:26:08.220 --> 00:26:09.259 God is at work. 00:26:09.700 --> 00:26:11.640 He is shaping, molding Moses. 00:26:12.360 --> 00:26:12.980 Because surely, 00:26:13.120 --> 00:26:14.099 without those 40 years, 00:26:14.200 --> 00:26:15.720 Moses would not become the man 00:26:15.720 --> 00:26:16.759 that Numbers 12-3 00:26:16.759 --> 00:26:18.740 decides as the meekest man, 00:26:18.819 --> 00:26:20.019 the humblest man 00:26:20.019 --> 00:26:21.000 on the face of the earth. 00:26:22.940 --> 00:26:24.180 Have you taken matters 00:26:24.180 --> 00:26:25.500 into your own hands like Moses? 00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:29.360 Do you feel that you've messed things up, 00:26:29.759 --> 00:26:30.720 ruined your life? 00:26:31.799 --> 00:26:33.839 Rest assured that just as Pharaoh 00:26:33.839 --> 00:26:36.460 can thwart God's sovereign plan for you, 00:26:36.839 --> 00:26:37.660 neither can you. 00:26:37.660 --> 00:26:40.700 God is at work in your life, 00:26:40.779 --> 00:26:43.840 even in and through your sins and mistakes. 00:26:45.720 --> 00:26:47.840 In the updated Alpha class 00:26:47.840 --> 00:26:49.400 that we've run in our church before, 00:26:49.600 --> 00:26:50.740 there's an episode seven 00:26:50.740 --> 00:26:51.120 entitled, 00:26:51.259 --> 00:26:52.779 How Does God Guide Us? 00:26:53.360 --> 00:26:54.500 And one of the narrators 00:26:54.500 --> 00:26:57.060 recount the story of Lord Bradstock. 00:26:58.180 --> 00:26:59.960 He was a British aristocrat 00:26:59.960 --> 00:27:01.160 from the mid-19th century, 00:27:01.340 --> 00:27:02.940 and he happened to be traveling in Norway, 00:27:03.300 --> 00:27:05.000 and at the hotel 00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:05.920 or whatever accommodation 00:27:05.920 --> 00:27:06.700 he was staying at, 00:27:06.900 --> 00:27:08.160 he heard a little girl 00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:10.099 playing a piano in the hallway. 00:27:11.440 --> 00:27:13.539 Playing is too generous. 00:27:14.160 --> 00:27:16.160 She was tinkering, 00:27:16.759 --> 00:27:17.799 hitting random, 00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:19.220 discordant notes, 00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:21.660 plink, plink, plunk, 00:27:21.660 --> 00:27:24.880 and the noise was tolerable at first, 00:27:25.700 --> 00:27:27.960 and then a minute later and longer, 00:27:28.119 --> 00:27:29.900 it starts to drive him crazy, 00:27:30.519 --> 00:27:32.039 and he's just watching on, 00:27:32.099 --> 00:27:32.720 doesn't have the heart 00:27:32.720 --> 00:27:34.440 to stop this little girl 00:27:34.440 --> 00:27:35.420 who's enjoying herself, 00:27:35.579 --> 00:27:37.079 but he can't do anything else, 00:27:37.420 --> 00:27:39.000 and as he's watching this little girl, 00:27:39.220 --> 00:27:41.860 a man comes and sits by her on the bench, 00:27:42.360 --> 00:27:45.380 and then he starts playing the piano. 00:27:45.660 --> 00:27:48.480 He starts surrounding those random notes 00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:51.860 with beautiful chords and harmonies 00:27:51.860 --> 00:27:55.120 and turns it into glorious music, 00:27:55.500 --> 00:27:58.380 and as he marveled at it later, 00:27:58.500 --> 00:27:59.079 he found out, 00:27:59.160 --> 00:28:00.120 Lord Bradstock found out 00:28:00.119 --> 00:28:02.159 that this man was, 00:28:02.379 --> 00:28:02.919 the daughter, 00:28:03.059 --> 00:28:04.539 the girl was the man's daughter, 00:28:04.899 --> 00:28:06.039 and this man was 00:28:06.039 --> 00:28:07.639 the famous Russian composer, 00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:09.039 Alexander Borodin. 00:28:10.719 --> 00:28:11.659 I didn't know about him 00:28:11.659 --> 00:28:12.459 until I heard this, 00:28:12.599 --> 00:28:13.299 but I looked him up. 00:28:13.500 --> 00:28:14.359 He's best known, 00:28:14.579 --> 00:28:15.599 his string quartet, 00:28:15.719 --> 00:28:16.539 number one and two. 00:28:17.119 --> 00:28:18.179 Maybe you guys played it. 00:28:18.299 --> 00:28:19.099 Okay, you guys have played, 00:28:19.179 --> 00:28:20.199 some of you guys have played it before, 00:28:20.279 --> 00:28:20.839 in his opera, 00:28:21.000 --> 00:28:21.500 Prince Igor. 00:28:21.500 --> 00:28:24.900 In a much deeper 00:28:24.900 --> 00:28:26.599 and more transcendent way, 00:28:27.500 --> 00:28:29.700 God also works in 00:28:29.700 --> 00:28:31.940 and through the mess and ruin 00:28:31.940 --> 00:28:33.980 we have made of our own lives. 00:28:35.660 --> 00:28:38.119 If you are discouraged this morning 00:28:38.119 --> 00:28:39.299 and thinking that your life 00:28:39.299 --> 00:28:40.980 is an irredeemable mess, 00:28:41.640 --> 00:28:43.680 feeling like a hopeless failure, 00:28:43.900 --> 00:28:46.000 whether it's due to your own sins and faults, 00:28:46.559 --> 00:28:48.000 and or that of others, 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:49.740 remember that our God 00:28:49.740 --> 00:28:51.000 is the redeemer yet, 00:28:51.880 --> 00:28:53.599 and there is still music 00:28:53.599 --> 00:28:55.900 to be played in your own life. 00:28:58.980 --> 00:29:00.200 The story continues 00:29:00.200 --> 00:29:01.779 in verses 16 to 22. 00:29:04.019 --> 00:29:04.940 Moses meets 00:29:04.940 --> 00:29:06.420 Midian's seven daughters 00:29:06.420 --> 00:29:06.900 at the well, 00:29:07.039 --> 00:29:07.559 helps them, 00:29:08.500 --> 00:29:09.640 rescues them from the shepherds 00:29:09.640 --> 00:29:11.279 who are trying to harass them 00:29:11.279 --> 00:29:13.180 and drive them out. 00:29:14.700 --> 00:29:16.380 And we meet Moses' father-in-law, 00:29:16.480 --> 00:29:16.799 Reuel, 00:29:16.799 --> 00:29:18.240 which means friend of God. 00:29:18.319 --> 00:29:18.960 He was a worshiper 00:29:18.960 --> 00:29:20.399 of the true God of Abraham. 00:29:21.099 --> 00:29:21.940 We know him more 00:29:21.940 --> 00:29:22.720 by his other name 00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:23.180 or title, 00:29:23.339 --> 00:29:23.740 Jethro. 00:29:26.440 --> 00:29:26.839 Perhaps, 00:29:26.960 --> 00:29:27.220 you know, 00:29:27.460 --> 00:29:28.539 Reuel couldn't attend 00:29:28.539 --> 00:29:29.220 to the flock himself 00:29:29.220 --> 00:29:30.460 because of his priestly duties. 00:29:30.519 --> 00:29:31.480 He says that he's a priest 00:29:31.480 --> 00:29:31.960 of Midian. 00:29:32.079 --> 00:29:32.919 He sends his daughters 00:29:32.919 --> 00:29:34.000 to the well 00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:34.639 to water them, 00:29:34.700 --> 00:29:36.440 but that was a difficult task 00:29:36.440 --> 00:29:37.200 to put them in charge 00:29:37.200 --> 00:29:38.399 because most of the shepherds 00:29:38.399 --> 00:29:38.879 were men 00:29:38.879 --> 00:29:41.659 and they were stronger 00:29:41.659 --> 00:29:43.379 and they wanted their flocks 00:29:43.379 --> 00:29:44.139 watered first 00:29:44.139 --> 00:29:45.359 and so they harassed 00:29:45.359 --> 00:29:46.519 these girls regularly, 00:29:46.740 --> 00:29:46.919 it seems, 00:29:47.019 --> 00:29:48.539 because they came back 00:29:48.539 --> 00:29:49.579 earlier than they usually do. 00:29:49.659 --> 00:29:50.639 It seems they dealt with this 00:29:50.639 --> 00:29:51.519 on a regular basis. 00:29:53.119 --> 00:29:54.959 But Moses comes to their aid 00:29:54.959 --> 00:29:55.819 and helps them 00:29:55.819 --> 00:29:57.599 and then they tell, 00:29:57.759 --> 00:29:58.719 report back to their father, 00:29:58.859 --> 00:29:59.339 an Egyptian 00:29:59.339 --> 00:30:00.859 helped us. 00:30:02.000 --> 00:30:03.299 That leads to an invitation 00:30:03.299 --> 00:30:03.899 to dinner, 00:30:04.539 --> 00:30:05.740 which leads to an invitation 00:30:05.740 --> 00:30:06.399 to stay 00:30:06.399 --> 00:30:07.559 in lodge 00:30:07.559 --> 00:30:09.220 and then it eventually 00:30:09.220 --> 00:30:10.519 leads to a marriage proposal. 00:30:11.839 --> 00:30:12.740 And this too 00:30:12.740 --> 00:30:13.960 is a clear evidence 00:30:13.960 --> 00:30:15.720 that God's sovereign purposes 00:30:15.720 --> 00:30:16.679 are being fulfilled 00:30:16.679 --> 00:30:17.799 in and through Moses. 00:30:18.539 --> 00:30:19.440 Moses meeting 00:30:19.440 --> 00:30:20.299 his eventual wife, 00:30:20.379 --> 00:30:20.740 Zipporah, 00:30:20.779 --> 00:30:21.259 at the well 00:30:21.259 --> 00:30:23.299 is intentionally reminiscent 00:30:23.299 --> 00:30:24.539 of Isaac 00:30:24.539 --> 00:30:26.240 whose servant met 00:30:26.240 --> 00:30:27.240 Isaac's eventual wife, 00:30:27.319 --> 00:30:27.619 Rebecca, 00:30:27.720 --> 00:30:28.379 at the well 00:30:28.379 --> 00:30:29.759 in Genesis 24 00:30:29.759 --> 00:30:31.519 and it's especially 00:30:31.519 --> 00:30:32.940 reminiscent of Jacob 00:30:32.940 --> 00:30:35.039 who was also a fugitive 00:30:35.039 --> 00:30:36.859 fleeing for his life 00:30:36.859 --> 00:30:37.559 from his father, 00:30:37.639 --> 00:30:37.839 Eve, 00:30:37.959 --> 00:30:40.759 and then he met 00:30:40.759 --> 00:30:41.559 his future wife, 00:30:41.639 --> 00:30:41.899 Rachel, 00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:42.699 at the well 00:30:42.699 --> 00:30:43.939 and what did he do there? 00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:45.599 He watered her flock 00:30:45.599 --> 00:30:46.719 at the well. 00:30:47.379 --> 00:30:48.419 So in the same way 00:30:48.419 --> 00:30:49.619 that God had guided 00:30:49.619 --> 00:30:50.740 those patriarchs 00:30:50.740 --> 00:30:51.299 and through them 00:30:51.299 --> 00:30:52.279 continued his promise 00:30:52.279 --> 00:30:52.819 to Abraham 00:30:52.819 --> 00:30:53.719 and Isaac 00:30:53.719 --> 00:30:54.379 and Jacob, 00:30:54.699 --> 00:30:56.119 God is now guiding Moses 00:30:56.119 --> 00:30:57.500 and fulfilling his promises 00:30:57.500 --> 00:30:58.240 to his people. 00:30:59.839 --> 00:31:00.799 So Moses marries 00:31:00.799 --> 00:31:01.779 Redwell's daughter, 00:31:01.899 --> 00:31:02.339 Zipporah, 00:31:02.459 --> 00:31:03.119 who gives birth 00:31:03.119 --> 00:31:03.679 to his son, 00:31:03.959 --> 00:31:04.379 Gershom, 00:31:04.459 --> 00:31:05.279 whose name means 00:31:05.279 --> 00:31:06.299 sojourner 00:31:06.299 --> 00:31:07.359 in a foreign land 00:31:07.359 --> 00:31:09.279 and in this too 00:31:09.279 --> 00:31:10.240 Moses resembles 00:31:10.240 --> 00:31:11.960 the patriarchs 00:31:11.960 --> 00:31:12.720 because Abraham, 00:31:13.019 --> 00:31:13.240 Isaac, 00:31:13.339 --> 00:31:13.680 and Jacob 00:31:13.680 --> 00:31:15.220 were all sojourners 00:31:15.220 --> 00:31:15.819 in Canaan 00:31:15.819 --> 00:31:18.079 holding on to God's promises 00:31:18.079 --> 00:31:19.119 that he would give them 00:31:19.119 --> 00:31:19.919 this land 00:31:19.919 --> 00:31:20.579 and make them 00:31:20.579 --> 00:31:21.740 into a great nation. 00:31:22.740 --> 00:31:24.099 Moses didn't quite belong 00:31:24.099 --> 00:31:24.700 in Egypt 00:31:24.700 --> 00:31:25.879 though he was adopted 00:31:25.879 --> 00:31:26.799 by Pharaoh's daughter. 00:31:26.980 --> 00:31:28.079 He was a sojourner there. 00:31:28.539 --> 00:31:29.539 He doesn't belong 00:31:29.539 --> 00:31:30.259 in Midian. 00:31:30.960 --> 00:31:31.639 He's a Jew, 00:31:31.759 --> 00:31:32.899 a descendant of Abraham 00:31:32.899 --> 00:31:35.200 and Isaac and Jacob. 00:31:35.200 --> 00:31:36.740 God's people belong 00:31:36.740 --> 00:31:38.240 in God's promised land 00:31:38.240 --> 00:31:40.180 and this is true 00:31:40.180 --> 00:31:41.279 for all of God's people. 00:31:42.220 --> 00:31:44.059 That's why 1 Peter 2, 11 00:31:44.059 --> 00:31:45.640 addresses all of God's people 00:31:45.640 --> 00:31:46.980 as sojourners 00:31:46.980 --> 00:31:48.440 and exiles 00:31:48.440 --> 00:31:49.819 and urges us 00:31:49.819 --> 00:31:50.500 to abstain 00:31:50.500 --> 00:31:51.299 from the passions 00:31:51.299 --> 00:31:51.880 of the flesh 00:31:51.880 --> 00:31:53.259 which war against 00:31:53.259 --> 00:31:54.080 our souls. 00:31:55.799 --> 00:31:56.980 As God's people, 00:31:57.100 --> 00:31:57.920 we're always going 00:31:57.920 --> 00:31:59.140 to feel a little 00:31:59.140 --> 00:32:00.200 out of place 00:32:00.200 --> 00:32:01.620 in our sinful flesh. 00:32:01.619 --> 00:32:03.659 How many of you 00:32:03.659 --> 00:32:04.259 have felt that? 00:32:04.299 --> 00:32:04.919 If you're a believer, 00:32:05.019 --> 00:32:06.539 you have all felt that. 00:32:07.199 --> 00:32:08.559 You want to love the Lord 00:32:08.559 --> 00:32:09.379 and serve the Lord 00:32:09.379 --> 00:32:10.299 and obey the Lord 00:32:10.299 --> 00:32:11.119 and be holy 00:32:11.119 --> 00:32:12.579 and set apart for him 00:32:12.579 --> 00:32:13.319 but you wrestle 00:32:13.319 --> 00:32:15.859 with your own sinful flesh. 00:32:16.259 --> 00:32:17.259 You feel out of place. 00:32:18.059 --> 00:32:18.799 What is wrong? 00:32:23.439 --> 00:32:24.359 Until our bodies 00:32:24.359 --> 00:32:25.079 are made perfect 00:32:25.079 --> 00:32:25.839 at the resurrection, 00:32:26.000 --> 00:32:26.939 we'll feel like 00:32:26.939 --> 00:32:28.019 sojourners 00:32:28.019 --> 00:32:28.899 in a foreign land. 00:32:28.900 --> 00:32:32.140 As God's people, 00:32:32.259 --> 00:32:32.759 we're always going 00:32:32.759 --> 00:32:33.380 to feel a little 00:32:33.380 --> 00:32:34.019 out of place 00:32:34.019 --> 00:32:34.700 in this world 00:32:34.700 --> 00:32:37.040 like we don't quite belong. 00:32:38.160 --> 00:32:39.120 James chapter 4, 00:32:39.160 --> 00:32:39.720 verse 4 says, 00:32:39.800 --> 00:32:40.380 whoever wishes 00:32:40.380 --> 00:32:41.180 to be a friend 00:32:41.180 --> 00:32:41.800 of the world 00:32:41.800 --> 00:32:42.540 makes himself 00:32:42.540 --> 00:32:43.900 an enemy of God 00:32:43.900 --> 00:32:45.440 because our world 00:32:45.440 --> 00:32:46.759 is fallen and sinful 00:32:46.759 --> 00:32:48.259 and the world's purposes 00:32:48.259 --> 00:32:48.860 and priorities 00:32:48.860 --> 00:32:49.980 are not aligned 00:32:49.980 --> 00:32:50.860 with God's purposes 00:32:50.860 --> 00:32:51.620 and priorities 00:32:51.620 --> 00:32:53.780 until Christ returns 00:32:53.780 --> 00:32:54.920 and brings the new heaven 00:32:54.920 --> 00:32:55.660 and the new earth. 00:32:56.280 --> 00:32:57.300 We are Gershom. 00:32:57.299 --> 00:32:59.159 We are foreigners, 00:32:59.779 --> 00:33:00.279 sojourners 00:33:00.279 --> 00:33:01.159 in a foreign land. 00:33:03.559 --> 00:33:04.799 And through the ups and downs 00:33:04.799 --> 00:33:06.559 and the twists 00:33:06.559 --> 00:33:08.259 and turns of Moses' life, 00:33:08.399 --> 00:33:09.579 we're seeing God's 00:33:09.579 --> 00:33:10.899 sovereign hand at work. 00:33:11.119 --> 00:33:12.500 God is raising up 00:33:12.500 --> 00:33:13.779 a deliverer for Israel 00:33:13.779 --> 00:33:15.319 and we see this 00:33:15.319 --> 00:33:17.419 in the most emphatic way 00:33:17.419 --> 00:33:18.879 in verses 23 to 25. 00:33:19.059 --> 00:33:19.960 Please follow along with me 00:33:19.960 --> 00:33:20.500 as I read it. 00:33:21.379 --> 00:33:22.899 During those many days, 00:33:22.980 --> 00:33:24.000 the king of Egypt died 00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:25.519 and the people of Israel 00:33:25.519 --> 00:33:27.420 groaned because of their slavery 00:33:27.420 --> 00:33:29.019 and cried out for help. 00:33:29.700 --> 00:33:31.379 Their cry for rescue 00:33:31.379 --> 00:33:32.119 from slavery 00:33:32.119 --> 00:33:33.400 came up to God 00:33:33.400 --> 00:33:35.359 and God heard their groaning 00:33:35.359 --> 00:33:36.680 and God remembered 00:33:36.680 --> 00:33:38.379 his covenant with Abraham, 00:33:38.379 --> 00:33:39.319 with Isaac, 00:33:39.440 --> 00:33:39.980 and with Jacob. 00:33:40.119 --> 00:33:42.160 God saw the people of Israel 00:33:42.160 --> 00:33:43.960 and God knew. 00:33:45.879 --> 00:33:47.680 Notice the deliberate repetition 00:33:47.680 --> 00:33:48.940 of word God here. 00:33:49.019 --> 00:33:49.879 That was not necessary. 00:33:50.039 --> 00:33:50.879 This is intentional 00:33:50.880 --> 00:33:52.580 to emphasize a point. 00:33:52.700 --> 00:33:55.140 It's like powerful hammer fists 00:33:55.140 --> 00:33:56.420 that come down 00:33:56.420 --> 00:33:58.080 over and over again 00:33:58.080 --> 00:33:59.980 to smash all of our doubts 00:33:59.980 --> 00:34:01.640 of whether God is good, 00:34:02.380 --> 00:34:03.680 whether God cares, 00:34:04.200 --> 00:34:05.420 whether God sees. 00:34:07.720 --> 00:34:08.960 Do you ever wonder 00:34:08.960 --> 00:34:09.800 if God hears 00:34:09.800 --> 00:34:11.000 your groaning for help? 00:34:12.760 --> 00:34:14.320 Do you feel sometimes 00:34:14.320 --> 00:34:16.280 like God has forgotten about you 00:34:16.280 --> 00:34:17.059 in your suffering, 00:34:17.720 --> 00:34:18.660 in your loneliness, 00:34:19.039 --> 00:34:19.760 in your pain? 00:34:19.760 --> 00:34:21.060 Do you ever wonder 00:34:21.060 --> 00:34:22.040 if God notices 00:34:22.040 --> 00:34:22.920 your struggles? 00:34:23.840 --> 00:34:24.820 Do you question 00:34:24.820 --> 00:34:25.480 whether or not 00:34:25.480 --> 00:34:27.420 God really knows you, 00:34:28.120 --> 00:34:29.080 knows your heart? 00:34:30.960 --> 00:34:32.460 Listen to the declaration 00:34:32.460 --> 00:34:34.540 of verses 24, 25. 00:34:34.720 --> 00:34:36.040 God heard. 00:34:36.700 --> 00:34:37.900 God remembered. 00:34:38.640 --> 00:34:40.100 God saw. 00:34:40.600 --> 00:34:41.900 God knew. 00:34:41.900 --> 00:34:49.139 God hears your pained groans 00:34:49.139 --> 00:34:50.200 in the middle of the night, 00:34:50.579 --> 00:34:51.440 your whimpers. 00:34:52.579 --> 00:34:53.840 God remembers you 00:34:53.840 --> 00:34:54.619 and the promises 00:34:54.619 --> 00:34:55.840 he has made to you. 00:34:56.200 --> 00:34:58.340 He has not forgotten you. 00:35:00.180 --> 00:35:01.800 God sees all of your struggles 00:35:01.800 --> 00:35:02.480 and sufferings. 00:35:06.280 --> 00:35:08.519 God knows you intimately 00:35:08.519 --> 00:35:11.639 and loves you completely. 00:35:15.239 --> 00:35:16.380 God has been guiding 00:35:16.380 --> 00:35:17.039 Moses' life 00:35:17.039 --> 00:35:18.139 for the past 80 years 00:35:18.139 --> 00:35:21.559 so that he might use him, 00:35:22.699 --> 00:35:24.219 deliver his people 00:35:24.219 --> 00:35:25.519 from slavery in Egypt. 00:35:26.400 --> 00:35:27.860 And that plan of God 00:35:27.860 --> 00:35:29.619 has been in the works 00:35:29.619 --> 00:35:31.460 since eternity past. 00:35:31.460 --> 00:35:36.099 And Moses is ultimately 00:35:36.099 --> 00:35:37.360 a shadow. 00:35:38.099 --> 00:35:39.659 He's only a foreshadowing 00:35:39.659 --> 00:35:41.260 of the ultimate redeemer 00:35:41.260 --> 00:35:41.880 we have, 00:35:42.240 --> 00:35:43.039 Jesus Christ, 00:35:43.480 --> 00:35:45.280 the new and greater Moses. 00:35:46.699 --> 00:35:48.099 Hebrews 3 tells us 00:35:48.099 --> 00:35:49.360 that Jesus is 00:35:49.360 --> 00:35:50.500 the great high priest. 00:35:50.599 --> 00:35:51.179 He's the priest 00:35:51.179 --> 00:35:52.460 who is greater than Moses 00:35:52.460 --> 00:35:55.099 because Moses was God's servant, 00:35:55.320 --> 00:35:56.940 but Jesus was God's son 00:35:56.940 --> 00:35:58.760 because Moses had, 00:35:59.300 --> 00:36:00.280 Moses the priest 00:36:00.280 --> 00:36:01.380 had to make sacrifices 00:36:01.380 --> 00:36:03.519 again and again and again, 00:36:03.679 --> 00:36:04.780 but Jesus makes 00:36:04.780 --> 00:36:06.679 the one sin for all sacrifice 00:36:06.679 --> 00:36:08.659 by giving his own life 00:36:08.659 --> 00:36:09.260 on the cross 00:36:09.260 --> 00:36:10.519 for our sins. 00:36:11.360 --> 00:36:13.320 There's no more sacrifice 00:36:13.320 --> 00:36:14.380 needed because of what 00:36:14.380 --> 00:36:15.800 Jesus has done. 00:36:16.539 --> 00:36:17.360 And our sin, 00:36:17.440 --> 00:36:18.119 not in part, 00:36:18.220 --> 00:36:20.200 but the whole is accounted for, 00:36:20.320 --> 00:36:22.000 covered and forgiven. 00:36:22.900 --> 00:36:23.900 And Jesus is also 00:36:23.900 --> 00:36:25.559 the true and greater king. 00:36:25.559 --> 00:36:28.719 Moses tried to take things 00:36:28.719 --> 00:36:29.380 into his own hands. 00:36:29.460 --> 00:36:30.099 He sinned. 00:36:30.980 --> 00:36:32.219 Jesus never sinned. 00:36:32.659 --> 00:36:34.480 Jesus ruled in a perfect way. 00:36:34.559 --> 00:36:36.179 He's the messianic king, 00:36:36.239 --> 00:36:37.320 the promised king. 00:36:37.480 --> 00:36:38.679 He's the prince of peace 00:36:38.679 --> 00:36:39.820 who brings God's peace 00:36:39.820 --> 00:36:41.119 to those who trust in him. 00:36:42.599 --> 00:36:43.940 Jesus was also himself 00:36:43.940 --> 00:36:44.619 a sojourner. 00:36:45.840 --> 00:36:46.679 On Christmas Eve, 00:36:46.759 --> 00:36:48.259 we studied Matthew 2 together 00:36:48.259 --> 00:36:49.619 where it speaks of 00:36:49.619 --> 00:36:50.679 how Jesus fulfilled 00:36:50.679 --> 00:36:52.579 the prophecy of Hosea 11.1 00:36:52.579 --> 00:36:53.860 that out of Egypt 00:36:53.860 --> 00:36:55.299 I called my son. 00:36:56.559 --> 00:36:57.759 Moses escaped 00:36:57.759 --> 00:36:58.900 the Egyptian king's 00:36:58.900 --> 00:36:59.559 infanticide 00:36:59.559 --> 00:37:01.139 by leaving his fellow Jews 00:37:01.139 --> 00:37:02.340 and living among the Egyptians. 00:37:03.519 --> 00:37:04.099 Similarly, 00:37:04.279 --> 00:37:05.299 Jesus escapes 00:37:05.299 --> 00:37:06.860 King Herod's infanticide 00:37:06.860 --> 00:37:08.320 by leaving his fellow Jews 00:37:08.320 --> 00:37:09.340 and spending his infancy 00:37:09.340 --> 00:37:09.900 in Egypt. 00:37:11.360 --> 00:37:12.420 The biblical authors 00:37:12.420 --> 00:37:13.000 are drawing 00:37:13.000 --> 00:37:14.719 an intentional parallel here 00:37:14.719 --> 00:37:16.000 in order to teach us 00:37:16.000 --> 00:37:17.739 that God's redemptive acts 00:37:17.739 --> 00:37:18.719 in the Old Testament, 00:37:19.279 --> 00:37:20.420 including his redemption 00:37:20.420 --> 00:37:21.299 through Moses 00:37:21.299 --> 00:37:22.179 in the Exodus, 00:37:22.179 --> 00:37:24.639 prepare the way for 00:37:24.639 --> 00:37:25.940 and point ultimately 00:37:25.940 --> 00:37:27.759 to God's redemption 00:37:27.759 --> 00:37:29.719 in Jesus Christ. 00:37:29.719 --> 00:37:34.659 all your wrestlings 00:37:34.659 --> 00:37:35.379 with sin, 00:37:35.559 --> 00:37:36.879 all the brokenness 00:37:36.879 --> 00:37:38.059 that we see in this world, 00:37:38.159 --> 00:37:38.939 all the pain 00:37:38.939 --> 00:37:39.980 and the hardship, 00:37:40.359 --> 00:37:41.480 all the answer 00:37:41.480 --> 00:37:43.480 is found in Jesus. 00:37:44.179 --> 00:37:45.179 In Jesus, 00:37:45.379 --> 00:37:46.899 all the promises of God 00:37:46.899 --> 00:37:48.859 are yes and amen. 00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:51.699 He fulfills them all 00:37:51.699 --> 00:37:52.359 for you. 00:37:52.359 --> 00:37:52.539 Amen. 00:37:52.539 --> 00:37:57.380 So when you are 00:37:57.380 --> 00:37:58.079 in your groaning, 00:37:59.159 --> 00:38:00.079 in your grumbling, 00:38:00.239 --> 00:38:00.940 in your complaining, 00:38:01.139 --> 00:38:01.800 in your doubting, 00:38:02.739 --> 00:38:03.579 look to Jesus. 00:38:05.360 --> 00:38:06.179 Look at him, 00:38:07.259 --> 00:38:07.960 his cross, 00:38:09.119 --> 00:38:10.179 his empty grave. 00:38:15.360 --> 00:38:16.420 And know that God 00:38:16.420 --> 00:38:17.840 will keep his promises for you. 00:38:18.900 --> 00:38:19.539 Let's pray. 00:38:22.539 --> 00:38:28.039 God, 00:38:28.139 --> 00:38:29.500 we do feel 00:38:29.500 --> 00:38:31.539 out of place at times. 00:38:37.539 --> 00:38:39.880 We feel unknown. 00:38:43.500 --> 00:38:44.279 But Lord, 00:38:44.340 --> 00:38:45.440 we thank you 00:38:45.440 --> 00:38:46.460 and praise you 00:38:46.460 --> 00:38:47.619 that you know us. 00:38:47.619 --> 00:38:54.739 God, 00:38:54.799 --> 00:38:55.839 I pray for your comfort 00:38:55.839 --> 00:38:57.339 for those in our midst 00:38:57.339 --> 00:38:57.819 right now 00:38:57.819 --> 00:38:58.599 who are going through 00:38:58.599 --> 00:38:59.519 really hard times 00:38:59.519 --> 00:39:00.099 and suffering. 00:39:02.639 --> 00:39:03.980 Help them to feel 00:39:03.980 --> 00:39:05.559 and remember 00:39:05.559 --> 00:39:06.679 with faith 00:39:06.679 --> 00:39:08.599 that you 00:39:08.599 --> 00:39:09.839 hear them 00:39:09.839 --> 00:39:11.279 and see them 00:39:11.279 --> 00:39:13.019 and remember them 00:39:13.019 --> 00:39:13.779 and know them. 00:39:17.619 --> 00:39:22.619 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:39:23.139 --> 00:39:23.420 Amen.