WEBVTT 00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:05.100 Great, well thank you Johnny for leading us thus far in our service. There's a sermon 00:00:05.100 --> 00:00:08.099 outline handout this morning. If you've not got one of them in the way in, please put 00:00:08.099 --> 00:00:14.120 up your hand and the guys at the back will sort you out with one. But I want to begin 00:00:14.120 --> 00:00:20.440 this morning by asking you a question. When was the last time you had a conversation with 00:00:20.440 --> 00:00:28.519 someone and they used a word and you had absolutely no idea what it meant? I'll give you an example 00:00:28.519 --> 00:00:34.179 of this in my own life. So I'm from the west coast of Scotland, don't hold that against 00:00:34.179 --> 00:00:40.500 me. But six years ago I first moved to Edinburgh and I found that there was this one word that 00:00:40.500 --> 00:00:45.359 people in the east use all the time and I had no idea what it meant. And it's the word 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:51.620 ken. Has anyone heard of the word ken? I had no idea. I thought that was a person when I 00:00:51.620 --> 00:00:56.500 first moved here. I thought I need to meet this guy. Everyone's talking about him. But 00:00:56.500 --> 00:01:02.159 I realised that people in the east use that word ken almost as if they say, yeah I know 00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:08.939 what you mean. So it's like an agreement word. And especially when it comes to a person, to 00:01:08.939 --> 00:01:14.219 say that you ken someone doesn't mean that you know them, it just means you know who they're 00:01:14.219 --> 00:01:21.960 talking about. There's a big difference between kenning someone, knowing about someone, and 00:01:21.959 --> 00:01:28.899 truly knowing someone. And I wonder if that's true for a lot of us this morning when it comes 00:01:28.899 --> 00:01:34.619 to our relationship with God. You know how many of us actually if we had to describe that 00:01:34.619 --> 00:01:41.959 this morning, it would be a lot more on kenning terms than it would be on knowing terms. You 00:01:41.959 --> 00:01:48.179 know if I asked you this morning to describe God, what are the words that are coming to your 00:01:48.180 --> 00:01:55.840 mind? And I wonder this morning, these words that you're thinking of, are they words that 00:01:55.840 --> 00:02:02.640 you just associate with God? Or is this the God that you know and have experienced in your 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:10.920 own life? Do you ken him? Or do you know him? Because right at the heart of this book of Exodus, 00:02:10.919 --> 00:02:18.579 the big theme, the big theme, if you like, is the God who makes himself known. Known to Israel, 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:27.979 to the Egyptians, to Pharaoh, and to the watching world. The God who reveals himself, reveals who he is, 00:02:28.859 --> 00:02:40.899 that he is holy, gracious, sovereign, mighty, rescuer, just, patient, loving, near, not just 00:02:40.900 --> 00:02:49.680 empty words, but wonderful truths about who God is that should cause us to stand in awe of him and 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:59.219 worship him and serve him wholeheartedly. The God who makes himself known. As we'll see, the God who 00:02:59.219 --> 00:03:06.680 rescues a people, not so that they could just be informed about him, but who rescues and redeems a 00:03:06.680 --> 00:03:14.420 people so that they can live in relationship with him. Knowing God, write at the heart of this letter. 00:03:16.420 --> 00:03:22.280 You know what my prayer is for my own walk with the Lord this year? What my prayer is for my family? 00:03:23.140 --> 00:03:30.600 My prayer is for us as a church. 2015, this would be a year when we know God better. 00:03:30.599 --> 00:03:37.780 Yeah? That his grace, gospel grace, would so transform our lives that it would transform 00:03:37.780 --> 00:03:42.240 the life of this church, our lives individually, this church corporately. 00:03:43.099 --> 00:03:48.180 Oh, that we would know God better. This is the story of a people who go from 00:03:48.180 --> 00:03:56.180 canning God to knowing God. So with that introduction, turn with me to Exodus chapter 1. 00:03:56.180 --> 00:04:04.599 And I guess the big idea that I want us to see this morning from chapter 1 is that even in the deepest 00:04:04.599 --> 00:04:15.219 darkness, God's plan will prevail. And we pick up the story with the people of Israel in Egypt. 00:04:15.640 --> 00:04:22.220 Now that begs the question, how did they get there? Well, really, we've got to go back to Genesis chapter 12. 00:04:22.220 --> 00:04:30.220 That's where it starts. God reveals himself to Abraham and he tells him to go, leave his homeland 00:04:30.220 --> 00:04:40.220 and follow him. And God makes Abraham a threefold promise, a covenant that from Abraham would come 00:04:40.220 --> 00:04:47.760 a great nation. So there's a people that he would give them a land for their own. There's a place 00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:55.839 that through them, God would bless the nations, a blessing. And in Genesis 17, we see that there's a 00:04:55.839 --> 00:05:03.579 fourth element to this promise, a relationship. That God would be their God, they would be his people. 00:05:04.360 --> 00:05:12.199 That's the plan. So Abraham goes. Really, the rest of the book of Genesis is the story of how those 00:05:12.199 --> 00:05:18.779 promises begin to develop. And what we see is that those promises, they don't end with Abraham. 00:05:19.560 --> 00:05:30.339 They continue down the family line. Isaac, Jacob, and then we meet Joseph. I love Joseph. Someone should 00:05:30.339 --> 00:05:39.680 write a musical about him. Joseph, betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery. And after a spell in an 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:45.459 Egyptian prison, God orchestrates it, God orchestrates it so that he rises from the prison to the palace. 00:05:46.120 --> 00:05:51.100 He's got a say and he's got a seat at the top table in Egypt as the king's right-hand man. 00:05:52.439 --> 00:05:58.120 And then there's a famine. And down come Joseph's brothers to Egypt looking for food. 00:05:59.420 --> 00:06:04.220 And what do they see? They see Joseph and they see that he's a big deal now in Egypt. 00:06:04.220 --> 00:06:14.040 And so back they go to dad and at Joseph's invitation, the whole family leave the land and they come to be in Egypt with Joseph. 00:06:14.940 --> 00:06:16.420 That's the story so far. 00:06:17.980 --> 00:06:25.860 And here's where Moses breaks the number one spelling rule that your English teacher told you at school. 00:06:25.860 --> 00:06:34.379 The very first word of Exodus, chapter one, word one, the original Hebrew, is the word and. 00:06:35.540 --> 00:06:38.560 I know the teachers out there, I can feel it. I know. And. 00:06:39.480 --> 00:06:42.139 But that's the link that Moses wants us to see. 00:06:43.080 --> 00:06:47.840 He's bridging the events of Genesis to what he's about to write in Exodus. 00:06:48.620 --> 00:06:50.300 Because this story hasn't finished. 00:06:51.199 --> 00:06:53.960 The story of promise continues. 00:06:53.959 --> 00:06:55.759 So this is how verse one reads, okay. 00:06:56.579 --> 00:07:02.939 And these are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family. 00:07:03.699 --> 00:07:06.539 Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah. 00:07:07.240 --> 00:07:09.299 Ishikar, Zebelin and Benjamin. 00:07:09.799 --> 00:07:12.799 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:16.259 The descendants of Jacob numbered 70 in all. 00:07:16.799 --> 00:07:19.799 Joseph was already in Egypt. 00:07:19.800 --> 00:07:22.660 So here we are. 00:07:22.759 --> 00:07:24.379 God's people are in Egypt. 00:07:24.920 --> 00:07:28.000 That's the setting for the next chapter of this story of promise. 00:07:28.740 --> 00:07:30.400 But here's what we might miss. 00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:34.540 That gap might well be one page in your Bible. 00:07:35.580 --> 00:07:42.500 But the time gap between that Joseph generation coming to Egypt and the story that we pick up here in Exodus one. 00:07:42.939 --> 00:07:44.580 We're not talking a few weeks difference. 00:07:44.579 --> 00:07:49.319 This is roughly 320 years. 00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:52.879 320 years of silence. 00:07:53.339 --> 00:07:54.419 That's a long time. 00:07:56.079 --> 00:08:00.319 Now on the one hand, I guess you could say not a lot's changed because they're still in Egypt. 00:08:01.319 --> 00:08:04.599 But on the other hand, an awful lot has changed. 00:08:05.579 --> 00:08:08.019 Look at verse 6 with me. 00:08:10.219 --> 00:08:12.479 That time gap has led to a problem. 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:17.980 Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died. 00:08:19.340 --> 00:08:27.040 So that Joseph generation, that golden generation who had heard firsthand from God, long gone. 00:08:28.580 --> 00:08:33.519 Not only have that golden generation gone, but there's a new sheriff in town. 00:08:34.759 --> 00:08:37.740 That name Joseph means nothing to him. 00:08:37.740 --> 00:08:41.840 Now maybe you've experienced something like this in your own life. 00:08:42.899 --> 00:08:45.740 And I remember when I was a trainee solicitor. 00:08:46.759 --> 00:08:49.519 Part of your training was that you moved around departments. 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:51.440 You changed seats every so often. 00:08:51.899 --> 00:08:53.919 So I remember I only did it in my two years there. 00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:55.379 I did it once, the change. 00:08:56.200 --> 00:08:56.980 I changed boss. 00:08:57.060 --> 00:09:01.080 But I remember well, I spent a whole year working with this boss over here. 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:02.419 I knew him. 00:09:02.799 --> 00:09:03.360 He knew me. 00:09:03.919 --> 00:09:04.759 I knew how he worked. 00:09:05.240 --> 00:09:06.220 He knew how I worked. 00:09:06.220 --> 00:09:07.720 I knew his jokes. 00:09:08.259 --> 00:09:09.279 He knew my jokes. 00:09:10.040 --> 00:09:11.899 Very next day, new boss. 00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:14.759 I was very aware he didn't have a clue who I was. 00:09:15.920 --> 00:09:17.680 Now he's a very nice guy in actual fact. 00:09:17.759 --> 00:09:20.540 But imagine if he had given me a job on day one. 00:09:21.940 --> 00:09:22.840 Graham, here's a job for you. 00:09:22.899 --> 00:09:24.519 And I'd have said, no, no, no, no, no. 00:09:24.779 --> 00:09:25.700 That's not how I work. 00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:28.019 That's not what I used to do over here. 00:09:28.840 --> 00:09:29.720 Do you think that's going to fly? 00:09:30.920 --> 00:09:31.840 No chance. 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:36.500 But that's exactly what's going on here in Egypt. 00:09:37.420 --> 00:09:41.280 New boss, new rules, no relationship. 00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:52.200 Because previously, that name Joseph, his legacy in Egypt, the work that he'd done for that nation, that carried with it massive kudos. 00:09:52.200 --> 00:09:56.280 I mean, Joseph is an Egyptian legend. 00:09:57.820 --> 00:10:06.220 And as long as Pharaoh knows Joseph, these Hebrew people are guaranteed privileged status in Egypt. 00:10:06.220 --> 00:10:17.680 But whereas under a previous Pharaoh, Joseph's name meant something, fast forward a few generations, this Pharaoh, Joseph means nothing to him. 00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:22.420 And this is the story here and now. 00:10:23.160 --> 00:10:25.879 Because there's a king who stands against. 00:10:26.980 --> 00:10:28.759 And he looks at these Hebrews. 00:10:30.040 --> 00:10:31.000 And what does he see? 00:10:31.960 --> 00:10:33.240 He doesn't see allies. 00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:35.420 He sees aliens. 00:10:36.220 --> 00:10:41.480 He looks around and he sees Israel being too many and too mighty for him. 00:10:42.300 --> 00:10:46.759 He sees a cheap and effective workforce who will build for him cities. 00:10:48.040 --> 00:10:51.660 And in Egypt, remember the superpower of the day? 00:10:52.300 --> 00:10:54.779 This guy is the superpower of the superpower. 00:10:55.399 --> 00:10:57.200 And he's treated like a god. 00:10:57.960 --> 00:10:59.240 So you can imagine. 00:11:00.300 --> 00:11:02.840 Here's a people that claim to worship another god. 00:11:02.840 --> 00:11:04.600 I don't think so, says Pharaoh. 00:11:04.600 --> 00:11:09.920 They answer to me. 00:11:10.060 --> 00:11:13.680 Not some god that they claim spoke to their forefathers in ages gone. 00:11:14.680 --> 00:11:15.540 And so what does he do? 00:11:15.639 --> 00:11:20.220 He aggressively seeks to assert his authority and his power over this people. 00:11:20.220 --> 00:11:28.899 And the conditions that the people of God find themselves in that are described for us here, they are brutal. 00:11:30.440 --> 00:11:34.680 And Moses goes to lengths to make sure that we understand that. 00:11:34.759 --> 00:11:37.040 So here's where we need to do some text work in our Bibles. 00:11:37.580 --> 00:11:38.379 Look at your Bibles. 00:11:38.500 --> 00:11:39.800 Verses 11 to 14. 00:11:39.899 --> 00:11:41.120 This is what Moses writes. 00:11:41.120 --> 00:12:03.620 I mean, that is all in three verses. 00:12:03.620 --> 00:12:07.940 And I see if we just drop down a little bit to the next section. 00:12:08.440 --> 00:12:16.679 We see the most horrific genocide attempt as Pharaoh seeks to wipe out all these baby boys. 00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:18.659 That's who this guy Pharaoh is. 00:12:19.539 --> 00:12:23.899 Nothing's going to stand in his way of him getting his way. 00:12:23.899 --> 00:12:29.559 Friends, we need to see Moses' drift as he writes this. 00:12:30.079 --> 00:12:31.899 Because this is real slavery. 00:12:32.779 --> 00:12:35.039 This is real suffering. 00:12:35.879 --> 00:12:42.360 And Israel have moved from being a free and protected ethnic group to abused, downtrodden slaves. 00:12:42.879 --> 00:12:45.679 This is something akin to the Jews in Nazi Germany. 00:12:45.819 --> 00:12:46.740 That's what we're talking about. 00:12:46.740 --> 00:12:50.759 Now, here's where I want us to pause for just a minute. 00:12:52.620 --> 00:12:56.720 Now, imagine that you're a Hebrew living in Egypt at this time. 00:12:57.960 --> 00:13:03.620 Now, you've heard about these wonderful promises that have been passed down from that generation. 00:13:04.639 --> 00:13:07.799 You've heard about how God has been at work in that generation. 00:13:09.080 --> 00:13:12.840 But then you look at what you see unfolding in front of you. 00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:14.259 And what do you see? 00:13:15.100 --> 00:13:16.100 You see chains. 00:13:16.740 --> 00:13:17.879 You see violence. 00:13:18.379 --> 00:13:19.240 You see oppression. 00:13:19.759 --> 00:13:20.560 You see death. 00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:22.940 What do you think you're thinking? 00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:27.060 What are the questions that would be on your mind? 00:13:27.120 --> 00:13:28.419 Just take a minute and think about that. 00:13:33.799 --> 00:13:36.620 You know what one of my favorite worship songs is here that we sing? 00:13:37.560 --> 00:13:39.100 You know that song, How Great Is Our God? 00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:41.200 How great is our God? 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:41.940 I love that song. 00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:44.440 They are not singing that in Egypt. 00:13:44.440 --> 00:13:46.940 Do you know what they're singing? 00:13:48.260 --> 00:13:50.000 Where is our God? 00:13:51.280 --> 00:13:54.240 Who is our God? 00:13:54.240 --> 00:13:58.799 Where is this God that I've heard about? 00:13:58.799 --> 00:14:03.159 Where is this God that I grew up hearing about? 00:14:03.620 --> 00:14:05.799 That my dad told me about? 00:14:06.440 --> 00:14:08.899 That his dad told my dad about? 00:14:09.019 --> 00:14:09.899 Where is this God? 00:14:09.899 --> 00:14:13.919 Interesting little side point there. 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:18.659 Thinking as one who's Lord willing about to start raising a child. 00:14:19.980 --> 00:14:20.939 She grows up. 00:14:21.500 --> 00:14:23.220 And she watches me in action. 00:14:24.039 --> 00:14:25.959 She sees what makes me tick. 00:14:25.960 --> 00:14:30.620 You know, is she going to see someone who just knows facts about God? 00:14:31.379 --> 00:14:34.680 Or is she going to see a living faith lived out in front of her? 00:14:35.780 --> 00:14:37.220 It's a big challenge here, isn't there? 00:14:37.259 --> 00:14:37.920 For parents. 00:14:38.820 --> 00:14:41.560 You know, what are we passing on to the next generation? 00:14:41.559 --> 00:14:46.299 Are we giving them words? 00:14:47.179 --> 00:14:51.099 Or are we teaching them what it truly means to worship God? 00:14:52.839 --> 00:14:55.259 But anyway, that's what the people in Israel are asking. 00:14:56.819 --> 00:15:01.279 So one, what's happened to those promises that God's made to us? 00:15:02.299 --> 00:15:04.779 Number two, is God really in control? 00:15:05.939 --> 00:15:10.279 Number three, is God still present with us? 00:15:10.279 --> 00:15:12.799 Where is God? 00:15:14.720 --> 00:15:16.919 Now, why do you think they're asking that question? 00:15:18.539 --> 00:15:23.699 Probably, precisely, because of the reasons that you and I ask that question at times. 00:15:24.839 --> 00:15:26.459 You ever ask that question of God? 00:15:27.100 --> 00:15:28.139 Where are you, God? 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:29.399 Why do you ask that question? 00:15:29.819 --> 00:15:33.079 Precisely because it doesn't look like it sometimes. 00:15:33.779 --> 00:15:34.100 Am I right? 00:15:34.860 --> 00:15:35.779 Where are you, God? 00:15:36.179 --> 00:15:38.259 It doesn't look like you're in control. 00:15:38.259 --> 00:15:43.179 How do you make sense of the chaos that happens in your life? 00:15:44.299 --> 00:15:49.700 How do you make sense sometimes in life when stuff doesn't turn out like you wanted it to turn out? 00:15:50.439 --> 00:15:53.559 Because that's the tension here in Exodus chapter 1. 00:15:53.559 --> 00:16:05.839 There's a mismatch between the words of God, the promises of God, and in the painful reality of the situation that these Israelites find themselves in at grounds you. 00:16:08.019 --> 00:16:09.199 Where are you, God? 00:16:09.200 --> 00:16:12.400 But here's the thing. 00:16:14.759 --> 00:16:23.480 Suffering might not mean singing, but silence does not mean that God is sleeping. 00:16:23.480 --> 00:16:34.759 And what Moses wants his readers to see is true in Egypt is what we need to see is true in our own lives today as well. 00:16:35.480 --> 00:16:41.779 That even in the deepest darkness, God's plan will prevail. 00:16:41.779 --> 00:16:49.959 Because there may well be a king who's standing against, but there is a God who stands above. 00:16:52.819 --> 00:16:57.299 So let's just walk our way through those three questions that we said would be on the minds of the Hebrew people. 00:16:57.899 --> 00:17:01.899 Because I think Moses, as he writes this, I'm sure he is aware of those questions. 00:17:02.919 --> 00:17:05.460 So question one, what about the promises of God? 00:17:06.299 --> 00:17:07.379 Have they failed? 00:17:07.380 --> 00:17:10.280 Remember what we said the four promises were? 00:17:10.360 --> 00:17:14.280 The people, the place, the blessing, the relationship. 00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:20.040 Well, as for the land, certainly aren't in a land flowing with milk and honey. 00:17:21.060 --> 00:17:25.640 As far as being a blessing to the nations goes, well, it certainly doesn't look like it. 00:17:26.700 --> 00:17:31.140 In terms of the relationship, well, they're not free to worship God, are they? 00:17:32.540 --> 00:17:33.600 But what about the people? 00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:38.899 What about this great nation that God promised would come from Abraham? 00:17:40.779 --> 00:17:47.799 Well, notice again how often in this passage, Moses alludes to the fact that they are a growing nation. 00:17:48.339 --> 00:17:49.480 Look with me, okay? 00:17:49.619 --> 00:17:50.279 Verse 7. 00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:57.679 They multiplied and grew strong and the land was filled with them. 00:17:58.399 --> 00:17:59.419 Verse 8. 00:17:59.539 --> 00:18:00.559 This is Pharaoh's words. 00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:02.679 He says, the Hebrews are too many. 00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:04.939 Verse 12. 00:18:05.079 --> 00:18:05.679 They multiplied. 00:18:06.500 --> 00:18:07.159 Verse 20. 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:09.619 They multiplied and grew very strong. 00:18:11.240 --> 00:18:13.799 And I guess verse 12 is the key one for us to see. 00:18:15.159 --> 00:18:16.219 You see how that works? 00:18:16.299 --> 00:18:19.439 The more Pharaoh oppresses them, the more they grow. 00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:21.559 Don't ask me how that works. 00:18:21.899 --> 00:18:22.419 I'm not sure. 00:18:22.899 --> 00:18:26.379 But the more Pharaoh oppresses them, the more they grow. 00:18:26.859 --> 00:18:28.379 Do you see what's going on there, friends? 00:18:28.380 --> 00:18:33.600 You see, no man is going to stand against God and God fulfilling his promises. 00:18:35.240 --> 00:18:40.780 No human being is going to stand and stop God fulfilling his plan. 00:18:41.780 --> 00:18:43.960 You think that is futility. 00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:49.660 And as we continue on in this book of Exodus, we'll see how those promises, they continue to develop. 00:18:50.760 --> 00:18:52.320 Have the promises of God failed? 00:18:53.020 --> 00:18:53.960 Absolutely not. 00:18:53.960 --> 00:18:57.539 God's promises are trustworthy. 00:18:58.620 --> 00:19:03.259 And even in the deepest darkness, his plan will prevail. 00:19:04.299 --> 00:19:05.079 Question 2. 00:19:05.200 --> 00:19:06.180 What about his plan? 00:19:07.259 --> 00:19:10.579 Have the purposes of God in Egypt, have they been thwarted? 00:19:10.579 --> 00:19:14.000 Because if we're honest, it kind of looks that way, doesn't it? 00:19:14.899 --> 00:19:18.339 If we're honest, it looks like Pharaoh is standing almost like a roadblock. 00:19:19.359 --> 00:19:21.119 That God didn't see him coming. 00:19:22.759 --> 00:19:23.980 But it's all part of the plan. 00:19:25.319 --> 00:19:28.919 This is what God said would happen all along. 00:19:29.899 --> 00:19:31.919 Now, you don't need to turn there, but if you want to, you can. 00:19:32.019 --> 00:19:32.939 Genesis 15. 00:19:32.940 --> 00:19:38.600 So, in the same passage where God had told Abraham about his offspring, do you remember that? 00:19:39.559 --> 00:19:45.460 As great as the number of the stars could be, right after those words, God says this. 00:19:46.539 --> 00:19:47.380 Genesis 15. 00:19:49.779 --> 00:19:50.600 Verse 14. 00:19:50.599 --> 00:19:57.519 Know for certain that for 400 years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, 00:19:57.939 --> 00:20:00.299 and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 00:20:01.079 --> 00:20:04.099 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, 00:20:04.459 --> 00:20:08.059 and afterwards they will come out with great possessions. 00:20:09.699 --> 00:20:14.459 So, you see, right there from the start, these events in Egypt are all part of the plan. 00:20:15.259 --> 00:20:16.059 God knows. 00:20:16.059 --> 00:20:20.220 So, when Isaac is but a twinkle in Abraham's eye, 00:20:21.480 --> 00:20:23.960 God's already told Abraham this is how it's going to play out. 00:20:25.379 --> 00:20:30.559 But, Graham, why would God lead them into Egypt knowing that this is what they're going to meet? 00:20:31.619 --> 00:20:32.980 I mean, what kind of God is that? 00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:34.879 Great question. 00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:43.059 Well, might it be that God is sovereignly allowing them to experience adversity, 00:20:43.059 --> 00:20:46.319 their plight, their helplessness, 00:20:46.319 --> 00:20:51.500 so that they would know that it was God alone who had rescued them from slavery, 00:20:52.779 --> 00:20:56.519 and so that they would know his greatness even more? 00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:00.399 Do you not know that to be true of God, 00:21:00.500 --> 00:21:03.700 that sometimes he allows us to experience darkness? 00:21:04.659 --> 00:21:09.720 He brings us low so that we would turn and see him high. 00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:14.539 You know, I know that it's been true in my own life, 00:21:14.660 --> 00:21:16.700 and if I'm honest, in my own testimony, 00:21:18.220 --> 00:21:20.420 that I know when things are going smoothly, 00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:22.620 when things are going well for me, 00:21:22.819 --> 00:21:23.759 I'm tempted to think, 00:21:23.920 --> 00:21:26.400 Lord, I like you. 00:21:26.920 --> 00:21:27.860 I don't know if I need you. 00:21:28.920 --> 00:21:33.579 And I know that the Lord has allowed me to experience things in my life 00:21:33.579 --> 00:21:37.460 to bring me low so that I would turn and see that he is everything that I need. 00:21:37.460 --> 00:21:42.440 But this Egypt episode, 00:21:42.740 --> 00:21:45.340 this isn't a curveball that's come God's way. 00:21:46.100 --> 00:21:48.819 It's all part of the plan. 00:21:49.960 --> 00:21:51.819 And just as slavery is part of the plan, 00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:53.559 see in those verses there that rescue, 00:21:54.340 --> 00:21:56.480 and God judging his enemies, 00:21:56.579 --> 00:21:57.700 that's part of the plan too. 00:21:59.180 --> 00:22:01.579 Have God's purposes been thwarted? 00:22:01.759 --> 00:22:02.880 Absolutely not. 00:22:03.600 --> 00:22:06.539 God's plans are good and are certain. 00:22:07.539 --> 00:22:08.319 Question three, 00:22:08.440 --> 00:22:10.420 is God still with us? 00:22:11.379 --> 00:22:13.799 I mean, maybe he was with us at the start when we came to Egypt, 00:22:13.879 --> 00:22:17.039 but he's moved out and he's left us on our own. 00:22:18.740 --> 00:22:20.460 Well, this is what God has said to Jacob, 00:22:20.599 --> 00:22:21.579 Genesis 46. 00:22:23.399 --> 00:22:25.000 I know this is a bit of a Bible chase, 00:22:25.099 --> 00:22:25.879 but you can just listen. 00:22:26.619 --> 00:22:27.639 So Genesis 46, 00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:31.559 the context is that Joseph's brothers have just returned from Egypt, 00:22:31.559 --> 00:22:35.159 and Jacob's weighing up whether to go down to Egypt, 00:22:35.480 --> 00:22:39.440 to leave his homeland and go and live with Joseph in Egypt. 00:22:39.519 --> 00:22:40.559 And this is what God says. 00:22:41.559 --> 00:22:42.139 He says, 00:22:42.140 --> 00:22:44.420 I am God, 00:22:45.040 --> 00:22:46.820 the God of your father, 00:22:46.920 --> 00:22:47.420 he says. 00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:50.120 Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, 00:22:50.259 --> 00:22:52.800 for I will make you into a great nation there. 00:22:53.460 --> 00:22:55.520 I will go down to Egypt with you, 00:22:55.740 --> 00:22:57.780 and I will surely bring you back again. 00:22:57.779 --> 00:23:03.480 So God's promise to be with Jacob as he travels to Egypt. 00:23:04.779 --> 00:23:06.399 Now, I'm sure if you're a Hebrew, 00:23:06.539 --> 00:23:07.680 you've heard that story. 00:23:08.200 --> 00:23:11.359 You've heard that promise passed down through the generations. 00:23:11.779 --> 00:23:13.559 But it's one thing to hear it, 00:23:14.099 --> 00:23:16.119 it's another thing to believe it and see it. 00:23:16.119 --> 00:23:21.819 But here's how Moses wants us to know that this is true. 00:23:23.339 --> 00:23:28.839 Because God is still working in the lives of individual people in Israel. 00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:32.819 And we see it most clearly in these Hebrew midwives. 00:23:34.199 --> 00:23:36.500 You know what I love about the way Moses has put this here? 00:23:37.779 --> 00:23:40.519 You know, the most powerful man in the world at this point, 00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:41.919 you don't need to know his name. 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:47.360 But these two run-of-the-mill, ordinary, faithful Hebrew midwives, 00:23:47.580 --> 00:23:48.940 you need to know their names. 00:23:50.560 --> 00:23:53.140 These Hebrew midwives. 00:23:53.720 --> 00:23:56.160 Now, you can speculate whether at verse 19 00:23:56.160 --> 00:23:59.080 they tell Pharaoh a slight lie or not. 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:02.539 But I think to do that is to slightly miss the point. 00:24:03.920 --> 00:24:06.720 These Hebrew midwives, God's agents, 00:24:07.240 --> 00:24:10.360 whose actions save the lives of these Hebrew boys, 00:24:10.359 --> 00:24:12.500 they are being commended here 00:24:12.500 --> 00:24:16.559 because they fear God more than they fear man. 00:24:17.299 --> 00:24:20.379 That they fear God more than they fear Pharaoh. 00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:22.399 And they are obedient to God. 00:24:23.719 --> 00:24:25.639 And they are here to let us know 00:24:25.639 --> 00:24:28.039 that even in the midst of such brutality, 00:24:28.939 --> 00:24:30.919 oppression and evil schemes, 00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:34.979 God is still working in the lives of individual people 00:24:34.979 --> 00:24:37.079 to accomplish his plan. 00:24:38.159 --> 00:24:39.899 He's got people in this city. 00:24:41.019 --> 00:24:45.199 And who he is raising up to stand against this oppressor. 00:24:46.059 --> 00:24:47.599 And that is still true today. 00:24:48.639 --> 00:24:52.939 That God raises up people from all over the world, right? 00:24:52.979 --> 00:24:55.099 He puts them in the right place at the right time 00:24:55.099 --> 00:24:56.899 to accomplish his plans. 00:24:58.179 --> 00:24:59.439 You know, we've heard stories, haven't we, 00:24:59.459 --> 00:25:01.119 from the mission field that that is true? 00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:03.579 But what I want us to see this morning 00:25:03.579 --> 00:25:06.439 is it is true on an individual level as well. 00:25:06.440 --> 00:25:09.519 You know, because I don't know what there is in here this morning. 00:25:09.580 --> 00:25:09.880 A hundred? 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:12.840 After this service, we'll all go out. 00:25:12.920 --> 00:25:13.840 Monday morning comes. 00:25:13.940 --> 00:25:14.380 Where are we? 00:25:14.420 --> 00:25:16.279 We're all spread across this city. 00:25:16.880 --> 00:25:18.860 Different places, different jobs, 00:25:19.240 --> 00:25:21.680 different neighbors, meeting with different people. 00:25:22.420 --> 00:25:24.360 And guys, do not see that as insignificant. 00:25:25.360 --> 00:25:27.820 Because God might well be raising you up, 00:25:28.320 --> 00:25:29.620 putting you in that place, 00:25:29.619 --> 00:25:32.219 because he wants to reach that person through you. 00:25:32.719 --> 00:25:35.259 He might be wanting to accomplish that job through you. 00:25:36.059 --> 00:25:37.579 Never see that as insignificant. 00:25:38.519 --> 00:25:41.179 God has people in this city 00:25:41.179 --> 00:25:44.459 to do his work in his time. 00:25:44.460 --> 00:25:49.019 So is God still with us? 00:25:49.600 --> 00:25:50.539 Absolutely yes. 00:25:51.200 --> 00:25:52.059 Absolutely yes. 00:25:52.180 --> 00:25:54.299 God's presence is real. 00:25:55.180 --> 00:25:57.340 There may well be a king who stands against, 00:25:57.700 --> 00:26:00.019 but there is a God who stands above. 00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:02.840 Because even in the deepest darkness, 00:26:03.140 --> 00:26:05.579 God's plans will prevail. 00:26:07.700 --> 00:26:09.759 And just as we come to a close this morning, 00:26:10.819 --> 00:26:13.519 I want to ask you what your favorite fairy tale is. 00:26:13.519 --> 00:26:15.559 Do you know what mine is? 00:26:16.779 --> 00:26:17.599 Hansel and Gretel. 00:26:18.319 --> 00:26:20.480 Now I was trying to think why it was Hansel and Gretel. 00:26:21.200 --> 00:26:23.440 But growing up, my dad was a dentist. 00:26:24.079 --> 00:26:26.779 Is he the thought of a kid eating a gingerbread house 00:26:26.779 --> 00:26:28.319 made of candy and gingerbread? 00:26:29.079 --> 00:26:29.480 Incredible. 00:26:30.539 --> 00:26:32.460 But every time I think of Hansel and Gretel, 00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:33.519 I think of the breadcrumbs. 00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:34.980 Do you know what I mean? 00:26:35.400 --> 00:26:37.900 The breadcrumbs so that they could find their way home. 00:26:39.079 --> 00:26:40.720 Clues that would help them find their way. 00:26:41.819 --> 00:26:42.759 But what I want us to see, 00:26:42.759 --> 00:26:44.119 just as we finished this morning, 00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:46.940 as we continue in this book of Exodus 00:26:46.940 --> 00:26:48.160 over the next few weeks, 00:26:48.779 --> 00:26:50.779 as we read it together in our devotions, 00:26:51.619 --> 00:26:53.720 we've always got to remember that this event 00:26:53.720 --> 00:26:56.539 is pointing to the something greater. 00:26:57.579 --> 00:26:59.440 Now we must never allegorize this stuff. 00:27:00.379 --> 00:27:01.700 I mean, these are real events 00:27:01.700 --> 00:27:02.859 and this is real slavery. 00:27:02.859 --> 00:27:04.459 But this Exodus, 00:27:05.099 --> 00:27:06.740 this great rescue, 00:27:06.879 --> 00:27:08.399 this great salvation 00:27:08.399 --> 00:27:11.859 is a pointer to the greater rescue and salvation 00:27:11.859 --> 00:27:13.459 that God would accomplish 00:27:13.459 --> 00:27:15.779 and win for his people through Jesus. 00:27:17.139 --> 00:27:18.919 We've got to see the breadcrumbs, okay? 00:27:20.159 --> 00:27:22.000 400 odd years of silence 00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:25.219 between that Joseph generation and the Exodus. 00:27:25.220 --> 00:27:27.299 400 years of silence 00:27:27.299 --> 00:27:28.200 between Malachi 00:27:28.200 --> 00:27:29.740 and when Jesus comes on the scene. 00:27:31.680 --> 00:27:32.160 Breadcrumbs. 00:27:33.079 --> 00:27:33.839 Pharaoh here, 00:27:33.920 --> 00:27:35.319 who's trying to kill baby boys. 00:27:35.420 --> 00:27:36.440 Does that remind you of anyone? 00:27:37.620 --> 00:27:38.200 Of Herod, 00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:39.579 who was trying to kill the baby boys. 00:27:39.680 --> 00:27:40.700 You see the breadcrumbs? 00:27:40.700 --> 00:27:44.819 And God sent his son, 00:27:44.900 --> 00:27:48.019 whose name means God saves, 00:27:48.620 --> 00:27:51.019 into a world, 00:27:51.440 --> 00:27:53.559 a situation of darkness 00:27:53.559 --> 00:27:57.039 to redeem and to rescue people 00:27:57.039 --> 00:27:59.120 from their spiritual slavery, 00:27:59.660 --> 00:28:00.180 their sin. 00:28:01.279 --> 00:28:02.480 The ultimate example 00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:06.059 that even in the deepest darkness, 00:28:06.640 --> 00:28:09.200 God's plan will prevail. 00:28:09.200 --> 00:28:10.100 Let's pray. 00:28:10.700 --> 00:28:21.080 Father, you are a great God. 00:28:22.200 --> 00:28:23.500 Lord, it's our prayer 00:28:23.500 --> 00:28:25.340 that you would help us 00:28:25.340 --> 00:28:26.900 to know you better. 00:28:27.980 --> 00:28:29.240 Father, that you would, 00:28:29.360 --> 00:28:30.039 this week, 00:28:30.180 --> 00:28:31.980 inform our minds, 00:28:32.480 --> 00:28:34.700 that you would raise our eyes, 00:28:35.140 --> 00:28:37.360 and that you would thrill our hearts. 00:28:38.180 --> 00:28:40.580 Lord, that we would know you more, 00:28:40.700 --> 00:28:43.000 and more and more this week, we pray. 00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:43.880 Amen.