Exodus 19 Sermon Notes

Pastor Joe Valenti

Are you prepared to meet God?

‌We know that nothing in God’s Word is unimportant, so even scene changes have important information in them. Let’s read with a careful eye.

‌Exodus 19:1-2

‌‌What is important here? → WILDERNESS. Recall what God had told Moses in Exodus 3:8 – ‌”and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey…”

And this is what Moses says to the elders when he arrives back in Egypt. So, the promises have been made  – good land, broad land, fertile land, good farming land, abundant land. And where are we?! WILDERNESS!

​Exodus 3:11–12

‌Sinai is was not the result of a wrong turn – Sinai was a primary destination on the way to the Promised Land. In fact, they stay there for about a year before moving on. What’s more, throughout the rest of our study of Exodus, the people don’t move from Sinai. It is here where God’s chosen people will get to know him – to work out the relationship.

‌Our walk with God is not measured by how quickly we attain his blessings, but by how deeply we love and obey him. Knowing him intimately and walking in his ways are the only way to receive the blessing. Or – put more simply – you’re not getting to the Promised Land until God reveals himself in the wilderness!

Being prepared to meet God requires three things:

1. ‌A Covenant Offer

‌‌One of the most humbling realities of the relationship between humanity and God is that there is nothing that we can due to earn God’s love and favor. No level of good behavior is good enough. But, in his kindness – God acts and chooses to bestow is love on those who do not deserve it.

‌‌Exodus 19:2-8

‌‌The people of Israel are away from the base of the mountain camped in the wilderness. Moses goes to the mountain and ascends it to talk with God. And God shares their covenant status and how to have covenant satisfaction. Do not read a western contractual view into this passage. God is NOT saying – if you obey me, THEN I’ll love you. Nothing could be further from the truth. The foundation is I LOVE YOU and therefore I have saved you and brought you to myself.

‌Obedience NEVER earns God’s love. Obedience is a response to God’s love in trust that he knows the best possible way to live in covenant relationship. So, God bestows his love, saves, and brings them to himself. 

You will be my treasured possession even though all of the earth belongs to him. The Hebrew is a common word segulla and it means personal treasure.

You will be a kingdom of priests – each of you will have access to my presence.

Holy Nation – you will be set apart for a special purpose – a unique people who – in all the world – will have the opportunity to display my love and character.

‌Obedience is the way to NOT to EARN your way into covenant, but it is a way to keep the covenant and enjoy the benefits.

‌Being prepared to meet God requires three things:

1. ‌A Covenant Offer – He must go first and extend this opportunity for us.
2. A Holy People

‌‌Exodus 19:7–17 

So, Moses goes back down the mountain and tells the people. They respond – YES – we’re in! Now, they have no idea what the details are yet. We’ll see those specifics in the chapters to come, but the offer is too good to be true. So, they do and Moses goes back up the mountain to tell God what they’ve said. God responds by leaning in with his presence – I’m going to allow them to experience my presence. But, they need to consecrate themselves and wash their garments. The people were to prepare their hearts and their washed clothes were to be a symbol of the preparedness of their hearts before a Holy God.

‌‌‌Exodus 19:18–25‌

Yahweh’s presence must have been a feast for the senses. We probably can’t take this literally. Moses is attempting to use words and things that we might understand to explain the unexplainable – to put into words what it was like when the presence of Yahweh descended onto the mountain

‌Thunder – all sorts of sounds

Lightening – flashing, dazzling light.

‌The entire mountain is wrapped in smoke because “Yahweh had descended on it in fire”, and the entire mountain is quaking. Even Hollywood special effects can’t do this justice.

‌The experience is so overwhelming that verse 16 tells us that all of the people in the camp trembled. The glory of God – his very presence is being manifest.

‌And the people have been warned not to get too close. Well, right in the middle of this spectacle, God summons Moses to come back up the mountain and he shares additional warnings. I think biblical scholar Alec Motyer summarizes the issue at hand well:

‌“When the events of Exodus 19 reach their climax, to the human eye, everything is in order. The days of preparation were over, the trumpet had sounded, and the Lord was doing what he had promised, conversing with Moses in the hearing of Israel, and in this way establishing authorized lines of communication and revelation. to the divine eye, however, all was not well, and Moses, notwithstanding his protests, was sent back to put further safeguards in place.‌ The people, happy about their state following the preparation days, could so easily have become forgetful of their status; in a word, their ‘holiness’ is not God’s holiness. They needed the warning that the holiness of God is such that no human self-preparation can ever satisfy its demands.”

Alec Motyer

‌‌This is a sobering reminder of our inability to be good enough to meet God. We’re all sinners and as many good things as we might do – as much as we try to clean ourselves up – it’s just not good enough. Our “holiness” is not God’s holiness. If your answer to the question: “Are you ready to meet God” is “Yes, because I’m a good person” – you’re sorely mistaken. The Hebrews are learning an important lesson. God is holy, you are not.

Being prepared to meet God requires three things:

1. ‌A Covenant Offer – He must go first and extend this opportunity for us.
2. A Holy People
3. A Mediator

‌‌Exodus 19:24–25

‌A mediator is someone who acts as the communication between two parties that cannot or should not communicate directly. Because of the separation that sin created between a holy god and sinful people, humans need a mediator – someone to go between. Throughout this entire story we’ve seen that Moses is the mediator. Back in chapter 3 God meets Moses at this very mountain in a burning bush and gives him a special task with special access. Here again, we see God’s sovereign choice, for Moses had not done anything uniquely spectacular to earn God’s favor. He was a murderer who had become a shepherd. But God chooses Moses to be the mediator between him and his people and between himself and Pharaoh.

‌God’s promised presence to dwell amongst his people without them dying as a result of unholy people encountering a holy God. The structure is called the Tabernacle – a tent of meeting and worship. Later, the more permanent place is the the temple.‌

The problem remains – we have people that are not holy and mediators that can’t seem to do anything about it at the heart level.  Moses can’t fix the selfish, sinful, unholy hearts of the people – and neither can Aaron – and neither can the priests through the generations. All they can do is provide this stop gap of sacrifices.

When Jesus died, the curtain that separated God’s presence from his people in the temple is torn – now those who have his righteousness become a kingdom of priests because Jesus’ righteousness allows them access to a holy God.

And he mediates a new covenant – giving the Holy Spirit – who writes God law on our heart so that we live into the benefits of the covenant and are his segullah – his prized possession.

‌‌Are you ready to meet God?

Exodus 18 Sermon Notes

Pastor Rick Duncan

Life is a series of problems… one after another. We are either in the middle of a problem or coming out or a problem or getting ready to go into a problem! That might sound discouraging. But it reflects reality, right? We do live in a fallen world. So, how do we handle these problems? We aren’t meant to deal with our problems alone. And that’s why God has given us community. We need the leadership, the help, the support, the encouragement, and the care of others.

Let’s dive into the last half of Exodus 18.

The Jewish people are now liberated. God has made them to be a new community under His rule, reflecting His character and experiencing His care. And now they are facing new problems. How will they govern themselves? Who will lead? How will they resolve disagreements? How will they handle problems as God’s people under God’s rule?

We’ve come to a defining moment! This new community needs to establish new structures for the sake of love and justice. God’s people under God’s rule for God’s glory. Verse 13…

13 The next day [after Jethro brought Moses’ wife and sons to meet him] Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening.

Jethro was a priest in Midian long before he ever met Moses. But we’re not sure what kind of priest. Was he a priest of the one true God? Maybe.

But it seems to me that his statement in verse 11, “Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods” could mean that he was actually a polytheist prior to his experience of hearing all the stories Moses told about how the LORD delivered the people. We could be reading a conversion story here. Jethro becomes a believer in and a follower of the LORD.

Now the next day, Jethro observed his son-in-law at work. Moses was a strong leader, clearly. But he was spending his whole day – dawn till dark-thirty – helping people with their problems. And it looks like he was dealing with one problem at a time. It’s not hard to imagine that the number of people waiting in line for Moses’ help was growing. Jethro is watching all this. Moses finally takes a break. And Jethro seizes the opportunity.

Exodus 18:14-17

I wonder if Moses is expecting his father-in-law to give him a fist bump! “Man, the people hang on your every word! They respect you so much! I didn’t know that you were such a gifted leader. I thought you were a simple shepherd. Your level of responsibility, your leadership capacity, and your wisdom are amazing!”

Wear out. The Hebrew word means “you’re going to sink, drop, languish, wither, fall, fade…” Why? This task is too heavy, too difficult, too massive, too burdensome.

And notice that Jethro says. “Moses, if you try to handle all these problems alone, it will not only wear you out. But it will wear out the people, too.” Through Jethro, the LORD wasn’t just seeking to care for Moses. He was seeking to care for all the people – this entire new community.

Jethro understood that this new community could not survive with just a single leader, a single judge. It’s too much for one person. So, Jethro, who maybe had just become a new believer, in showing a concern for this new community is actually showing a concern for God and His Kingdom and glory. He’s wondering, “How can I help my son-in-law organize this new community so that all the people of God can truly experience the rule of God where they live and work and play?” 

Exodus 18:19-20

Jethro says, “Represent the people before God and bring their cases to God…” Sounds like prayer!  And then Jethro says, “Warn them… and make them know the way in which they must walk…” Sounds like the ministry of the Word.

It’s what the New Testament leaders said about their responsibility in Acts 6. When they were resolving a dispute in the early church about the distribution of food to widows, they appointed others to handle that issue and said about their responsibility, “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4).

The best thing that a pastor or elder of a church can do is to stay focused on praying for the people and teaching them the Word of God.

Exodus 18:21

Earlier in Exodus, we are told that there were 600,000 Jewish men who left Egypt and were traveling through the wilderness to the Promised Land with Moses. So, there may have been, by conservative estimates, about 2 million people when you add in women and children. If there were 2 million people, the breakdown would be approximately 2,000 groups of thousands, 20,000 groups of hundreds, 40,000 groups of fifties, and 200,000 groups of tens. That blows my mind. 

Moses needed 262,000 leaders!?!? How long would it take to organize that way? It didn’t just happen in a day! I guess the idea was to start with the first 2000? I don’t know.

Moses has to be thinking, “Who do I look for first?” Pastor Kevin DeYoung breaks down verse 21. What kind of leaders should Moses appoint?

Evaluate…

… their relationship to the task (are they able?) Able men. The word “able” in the Hebrew language refers to strength and competence. 2) Evaluate…

… their relationship to God (do they fear Him?) Fear God. This refers to a person who has so much of a reverence of the LORD and a respect for the LORD that he or she desires to please Him at all times. 3) Evaluate…

… their relationship to others (are they trustworthy?) Trustworthy. This Hebrew word conveys the idea of faithfulness, stability, reliability. 4) Evaluate…

… their relationship to money (do they hate a bribe?) Hate a bribe. This describes a person who hates dishonest gain (NIV).

No one is perfect, of course. But when someone steps into a position to lead God’s people, all 4 of these characteristics ought to noticeable and growing.

Leaders who fear God, are worthy of trust, and hate bribes, but lack ability will be poor problem-solvers, unable to navigate change and challenges. People will get hurt.

Leaders who are able, are worthy of trust, and hate bribes, but lack the fear of God will ignore or compromise God’s word when making decisions. People will be led astray.

Leaders who are able, fear God, and hate bribes but are not worthy of trust will break promises. People will be disillusioned.

Leaders who are able, are worthy of trust, and fear God but do not hate bribes will make decisions based on personal gain rather than on the best interests of the community. People will be abused.

Exodus 18:22-23

Sharing leadership – bearing the burden together – is the way to get 1) direction from the LORD, 2) endurance for the ministry, and 3) peace for the people.

Delegation is not a sign of weakness, but strength! Delegation isn’t only about getting things done; it’s about helping people grow! Delegation is a sign that you trust and respect the people who surround you! It’s about collaborating. If you want to do a few things with a small impact, do them by yourself. If you want to do great things with a big impact, invite others to help.

Exodus 18:24-27

Moses’ response shows humility. He didn’t dismiss Jethro as an outsider. He didn’t roll his eyes at his father-in-law. He didn’t pull rank by reminding Jethro, “Hey, I’m the person God used to lead the people out of Egypt, not you!” He didn’t dismiss the idea because he didn’t come up with it first. Moses listened and learned!

In this world humble leaders are rare. Sometimes God directs us through the instruction and correction from unexpected places. Moses was a fallen man in fallen world leading fallen people. He needed help! So, God gave Moses wisdom through the advice of his father-in-law.

This new community that God was establishing needed to be an organization that would not be dependent on one leader. They needed a system of care that was manageable and sustainable. Systems and structures are not necessarily unspiritual!

Jesus is the Head of the Church. But He’s given us a team of elders, pastors, ministry directors, LifeGroup leaders, and Sunday school teachers to share the burden of leadership.

I think about the life and ministry of Jesus. Jesus taught 1000s. He appeared to 500 after His resurrection. He had 120 followers waiting in the Upper Room in Acts 1 for the coming of the Spirit. He had 72 followers He sent on mission. An undefined number between 72 and 12 traveled with Him. He chose 12 disciples. Out of that 12, He had 3 who were His closest – Peter, James and John.

Why does this matter? The overarching theme of Exodus is that the LORD is the Hero who wants to be known. Throughout Exodus, the LORD constantly reveals Himself as the Author, the Producer, the Director, and the Star of the story. He is the central character who demonstrated His power, His compassion, and His ability to pursue a relationship with His people.

The LORD is advancing His Kingdom – His rule over His people on the earth. He’s concerned about the well-being of His people. The LORD is not only interested in delivering the people from bondage but also in establishing them in a just society that reflects His law and love. He wants people who actually reflect His moral character – ability, trustworthiness, reverence, and generosity.

So, the LORD sovereignly sent Jethro at a critical point in history to help Moses build a structure and a system for God’s rule over God’s people to flourish so God’s people could reflect His character to the world. And every person living in the world where life is a series of problems one after another had to play their part.

And in order for you to be able to live well in this world where life is a series of problems one after another, you have to play your part.

Why all this concern about the structure for God’s new community? The LORD longs to be known and loved and served better and better! The LORD longs for His people to be governed in a way that mirrors His own wisdom. The LORD longs for His people to know Him in every aspect of our lives.

We should care about the organization of this church because we care about every person here and we care about the glory of God!

God’s call is for every one of us. Whether you’re a teacher or plumber, a business professional or stay-at-home parent, a student or retiree, God has created your life to count in a world filled with people who have problems.

So don’t underestimate the part God is calling you to play, starting right here where you go to church. Realize that God has you where you are for a reason. You are not in this community by accident. You are here with the gifts, skills, abilities, and resources you possess by divine design. God has sovereignly given you unique opportunities for Kingdom service right here at CVC.

We unapologetically exhort you to be involved and to lead. Keep letting us know you are willing! It might take us some time to help you find your place.

Maybe you aren’t ready, but the LORD is stirring something in your heart. What if you dedicated yourself in 2024 to be your year to abide in Christ so deeply so that by 2025 you are qualified to lead?

Exodus 16 Sermon Notes

Pastor Dean Siley

The Bible is full of examples of godly people who say, “I’m scared. I’m hurt. I’m upset. I wish this were different. Lord, would you do something about this?” There are many examples of a biblical, godly way to offer a groan or lamentation…to express our hurt or disappointment. Grumbling has a different heart posture. 

Grumbling, however, is not a humble cry for help, but saying to God, “I know how to run the universe a bit better than you do.” Instead of saying, “This really hurts, but I’m ready to receive whatever I must receive from God’s hand”, grumbling says, “This stinks, and I’m ready to rebel against God’s heart.” That’s the difference.”

Kevin DeYoung, Pastor & Theologian

The way we behave says a lot about the condition of our hearts. 

Exodus 15:22-25

The Israelites don’t cry out to the Lord, they just grumbled against Moses. However, Moses, cried out to the Lord.  

Exodus 16:1-36

“Your grumbling is not against us but against the Lord.” Do you pause to question where your grumbling is pointed? If we’re honest as believers, I think in our hearts we are grumbling against God. The Lord wants to transform our hearts. No matter your circumstances, you can call out to the Lord and trust that He will guide you and give you what you need.

Application

The Israelites grumbled:

• Exodus 15:24 – They were thirsty
• Exodus 16:2 – They were hungry and longed for Egypt

Four times we see that the Lord heard the Israelites grumbling:

• Exodus 7 – You shall see His glory
• Exodus 8 – He will give you meat and bread
• Exodus 9 – His glory appears
• Exodus 12 – Meat and bread appear

The Lord keeps His promises. He does not promise things will be easy or that there will be no pain or suffering. What He promises is that He will be with us through it all. 

Charles Spurgeon – See God’s answer to man’s murmuring. They send up their complaint and He promises to rain bread down from above. It is a blessed story on God’s part all along: a rain of mercy for a smoke of complaining. 

Endings are difficult even when we are enslaved. Moving forward means change. Change can be scary because we want to remain in control. 

John 6:31-40

Moses is not the Hero of this story. The hero is Jesus who made a way for eternal life.

Exodus 15 Sermon Notes

Here are a few questions to consider today:

• ‌Do you PRAISE as much as you PLEAD?
• Do you express gratitude as much as you express need?
• Do you bless as much as you beg?
• Do you appreciate as much as you ask?

‌‌In an excellent article on this subject in Christianity Today, Kent Dunnington and Ben Wayman say this:

Christians should…be a grateful people, perhaps the most grateful of everyone. And considering the malaise of post-pandemic life, our embittered political polarization, and the vitriolic cancel culture today—it’s hard to imagine a better time for us to double down on the value of gratitude. For Christians, of course, gratitude should begin and end with our thankfulness to God. And yet many of us do not experience this with the kind of frequency, intensity, and durability that seem appropriate given how extraordinary God’s benefits are. Why do we struggle to be consistently grateful to God, even when we believe—or at least say we believe—that God is our ultimate and incomparable benefactor? One problem is inattention. We may know in an abstract sense that God is the greatest Giver, but until we start paying attention to where God’s gifts show up, we’re not likely to experience gratitude. Another issue is resentment. We know God is often good to us, but we’re also mad when God doesn’t give us what we want, so we withhold our gratitude.

Exodus 15

This is the first song in the Bible. Some might argue that when Adam saw Eve for the first time, the “bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh” is a song, but most would agree that this is truly the first song recorded in the Bible.

‌Songs within narrative are really important. Don’t skip over them. Songs in narrative ought to perk up our ears and eyes to note that something really important has happened in the story.

• ‌Hannah’s song when she conceives after being barren (1 Samuel 2)
• ‌The song of David’s victory of Goliath (1 Samuel 18)
• ‌Asaph’s song when the building of the temple is completed (2 Chronicles 5)
• ‌The Magnificat (Mary’s song) that she sings after learning that she would be the mother of the Messiah.

‌

Section #1 – Praising Yahweh for what he HAS done (past)

‌I will sing to Yahweh because HE has triumphed gloriously.

Section #2 – Praising God for WHO HE IS (present)

• Yahweh and Yahweh alone is God.
• He is awe-inspiringly perfect.
• He is all-powerful and perfectly just.
• God is perfect in power.
• He is overflowing in covenant-keeping love.
• He is a Savior.

God is perfect in power – strong enough to pick up seas and throw them down again, but he is also a God of justice – he always does what it right. He is overflowing in covenant-keeping love. The Hebrew word here translated steadfast love is hesed.

Prayer Prompts:

God, I thank you that you are ______________ (characteristic)

‌     knowing this about you helps me to _______________ (response).

‌‌God I thank you that you are __________________ (characteristic)

‌     I have seen this so clearly in __________________ (experience of his character)

Section #3 – Praising God for what He WILL DO (future)

God has already told Moses what is going to happen and where he is leading this people – to the Promised Land – the land of Canaan. And Word of the God of the Hebrews is spreading – even without modern communication, word is getting around that Yahweh just took down one of the greatest kingdoms and leaders in the known world.

Revelation 15:1-4

This is but a glimpse of the reality of what awaits all of those who trust Jesus to be the leader and forgiver of their lives. God will fully and finally defeat all of his enemies and justice will be fully and finally realized. And he will bring us into the land and plant us in the land perfectly suited for us – to enjoy all of the really good things that he made us to enjoy. And his presence will not be a pillar or fire, or a cloud, or in one specific place like the temple. But God himself will dwell with his people – his sanctuary will be among us. And the Lord will reign forever and ever! This is what God WILL DO. He proves to be a promise-keeper to Moses, to the Hebrews, and throughout all generations. And he will be a promise keeper to the end.

Exodus 14 Sermon Notes

 Let’s study a story about the Jewish people hopelessly trapped between the Egyptian Army and the Red Sea that teaches us that it’s possible to know peace when everyone else knows panic.

The Red Sea story has formed and informed the Jewish people for 3,500 years. Over and over in the Old Testament, when spiritual leaders wanted to remind their people about the LORD’s ability to save, they would point to what God did at Red Sea. And when we get to the New Testament, this story is seen as a picture of how God grants us salvation from our sins.

Exodus 14:1-2

This week I took some time to dig into the issue of location. The Mekilta – a kind of Jewish commentary on Exodus – says that the place was a valley between two high rocks – mountains. Pi-hahiroth means “the mouth of the gorges.” Migdol was a common name for an Egyptian watchtower. Lots of those were scattered across the land. Baal-zephon could be referring to a place with an idol to an Egyptian god. The translation of the name? Lord of the north, of the hidden things, of the darkness.

Exodus 14:3

The important thing to note here was that there was no human way of escape. At the mouth of a gorge, hemmed in by mountains perhaps with a enemy watchtower above, across the sea from a place dedicated to the worship to a false god. Remember, the LORD had been leading them with the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. The LORD had led them to this of no escape. The LORD doesn’t always lead us to places of comfort and ease.

Pharoah’s thinking, “The Israelites are lost; they’re confused. They’ve made a strategic blunder. They’re stuck, trapped in the wilderness between the desert and the sea.”

Exodus 14:4

So, what’s going on here? Without taking away Pharoah’s human autonomy and responsibility, God Himself does make Pharoah’s heart even more stubborn.

See, over and over throughout this story, Pharoah refuses to submit to the LORD’s authority because he wants to be in charge. In that sense, he’s hardening his own heart. 10 times through the 10 plagues the LORD had shown Pharoah that He was intent on protecting and delivering His people. But Pharoah was determined to defy God and destroy himself.

The Old Testament Theologian Desmond Alexander says, “When God stiffens Pharaoh’s heart, he merely strengthens the king’s resolve to do what he has already chosen to do.”

Exodus 14:5

Evidently, Pharoah had scouts tracking the journey of the Jews and giving him updates. Why would he be tracking the Jewish people? He wants them back in Egypt, slaving for him.

Imagine what would happen in our economy if hundreds of thousands of workers disappeared. Who’s making sure we have electricity and water? Who’s driving the trucks? Who’s manning the stores?

Pharaoh knows Egypt is trouble without the Jewish workforce. His empire would almost collapse. He can’t let that happen. So, he’s about to give chase. He wants these Jewish slaves back as soon as possible!

Exodus 14:6-9

God’s people are trapped. The LORD Himself has led His people to the edge of the Red Sea, with this Egyptian army closing in behind them. The Israelites turn and see dust rising on the horizon. Pharaoh’s chariots are racing toward them. Fear grips their hearts. Panic sets in. It’s a scene of chaos and confusion. It’s a capital “R” Red Sea moment. In life, we often face our own little “r” red sea moments—circumstances that loom large and threaten to overwhelm us. We see the approaching chaos.

Exodus 14:10-12

God’s people aren’t believing the promises of God. The LORD had told their forefathers – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – “I am going to make Israel a great nation; I’ll bless you to be a blessing!” And the LORD had just said in Exodus 13 that He was going to bring them into the Promised Land and give it to them! God’s people are not believing God’s Word. They think they are going to die! So, they grumble.

And grumbling is growling against God. They aren’t trusting in God’s will and God’s ways. So, they direct their gripes toward Moses.

Exodus 14:13-18

I love that once again the shepherd’s staff of Moses shows up here. It’s a tangible reminder of God’s call to Moses back in Exodus 3 at the burning bush. It’s a reminder to Moses that he’s still a shepherd – not for sheep anymore, but for people. That staff helped keep Moses humble, focused, grounded, and connected to the LORD and his call on Moses’ life. The staff is a reminder, “Moses, it’s not you doing these great things. It’s Me.” The LORD displays His power through that staff. 

Exodus 14:19-22

Who is this angel of God? Angel in the Hebrew is mal’akh, which means a messenger or an envoy. This is a manifestation of God’s presence. This could be a pre-Pentecost visitation of the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. Or it could be a pre-Incarnate visitation of the second Person of the Trinity, Christ, like we have in Exodus 3 at the burning bush.

The angel of the Lord in the pillar of cloud and fire, while keeping the people and the army separated, brought darkness to the Egyptian army and light to the people of God. God guides and guards His people. And that should be a comfort to you and me. Where God guides us, there God guards us! Make sure you are where He’s guided you! 

The LORD can do whatever the LORD wants to do whenever He wants to do it! The very existence of God implies the possibility of the miraculous.

The Bible scholar A.W. Pink wrote, “The great difference between faith and unbelief is that one brings in God, the other shuts Him out… Bring in God and supernatural displays of power are to be expected” (Gleanings in Exodus, p. 105). 

Exodus 14:23-31

God is a God of justice. Deuteronomy 32:35 says, “The day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.” Psalm 94:2 says, “Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve!” Nahum 1:2-3 says, “The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies.”

The people of God were goners. They were backed up against the sea. With Egypt coming. Charging at them with 600 chosen chariots. And yet in this seemingly impossible situation, God makes a way. He saves His people. He delivers them from death.

Go back to Exodus 14:13-14 and look at the five commands.

Command #1: Fear not. What changes need to take place in the way you approach life so you fear less?

Command #2: Stand firm.

Hebrew scholars Keil and Delitzsch favor the translation “stand still,” like the KJV. Through Moses, God is commanding the people to cease from their own efforts, to rest quietly, and to trust in God’s salvation. They can’t save themselves. We can’t save ourselves. No matter how religious we are, no matter if our good deeds outweigh our bad deeds, no matter how moral we become, we can’t deliver ourselves. Our enemies – the world, the flesh, the devil – will overtake and overwhelm us! We will be carried back into slavery to our sin. We can’t save ourselves. Stop trying. Stand still.

Command #3: Watch God. God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He sent the LORD to live the life we could not live, to die the death we should have died, to be raised to give us new life. The name Jesus – Yeshua – means salvation. No wonder Jesus called Himself the Way. See the salvation of the LORD, which He will work… We don’t work; He does!

Command #4: Be silent. I don’t have to explain myself to God. I don’t have to justify myself. I don’t have to defend myself. Jesus is my advocate. He’s interceding on my behalf before the Father, “He doesn’t deserve to be rescued! She doesn’t deserve salvation. But You sent Me to make a way! So, save him on My account!”

Command #5: Go forward.

By faith, the people stepped into that miraculous deliverance. Salvation is a kind of “crossing over.” They were leaving Egypt behind. They were leaving false gods behind. They were leaving slavery behind. They were going to be free. They are heading to the Promised Land. God froward!!! Cross over!!!

On one side of the Red Sea, they are within reach of their old false masters, they were under sentence to death. And Pharaoh is saying, “We’re gonna get them; we’re going to kill them.” And when they’re on that side of the sea, they were still under sentence to death.

But as soon as they crossed over, they were safe. And when the Egyptians tried to cross over, they were defeated. The minute God’s people crossed over, they crossed over from death to life. They crossed over from being under the sentence of death. They were no longer facing condemnation.

In John 5:24 Jesus said, “Whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed [crossed over] from death to life.”

In the New Testament, we see a connection between the experiences of the Israelites at the Red Sea and our experiences with Christ. God wants to teach us something about our salvation and deliverance.

Our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea… these things took place as examples for us. 1 Corinthians 10:1-2, 6

Being “under the cloud” points to how the LORD guards and guides. Passing through the sea and being baptized into Moses points to the people’s union with Moses as their leader.

And this passage in I Corinthians 10:4 goes on to speak of how Christ Jesus was present in Exodus is the deliverance of God’s people.

This story foreshadows our rescue in Christ!

A more sinister one than Pharoah, Satan, was pursuing us… along with his demons. And we were in greater danger than the Israelites – captured by the enemy, worshipping false gods, and kept in slavery to our sin!

But God has given us a deliverer better than Moses, Christ Jesus! And just as Pharoah was rendered powerless and destroyed, our more diabolical enemy, Satan, will one day be defeated forever and ever.

And we have a better Guide, God’s Spirit! Like the cloud in this story, the Spirit led us to a place where we understood that we could not save ourselves! He did for us what we could never do! We were baptized into Christ, into the water.

And now we have a better freedom! Just as the Jewish people were set free from idolatry and slavery in Egypt, we’ve been set free from our idols and our slavery to sin. And we are headed to a better Promised Land.

Think about that seemingly impossible situation and let these words wash over your soul.

Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted… Psalm 46:10

[The righteous] is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. Psalm 112:7-8

You will be delivered by returning and resting; your strength will lie in quiet confidence. Isaiah 30:15 (HCSB)

Exodus 13 Sermon Notes

FROM PURPOSE TO POWER – HONOR, WORSHIP AND TRUST

The Israelites were Freed from bondage of slavery to:

1. HONOR Him – Exodus 13:1-2, 11-16.
2. WORSHIP Him –  Exodus 13:3 – 10
3. TRUST Him –  Exodus 13:17-22

FREED TO HONOR HIM

• Following the events of the last plague with the death of all the first born of human and animal and the Israelites exit from Egypt, God is calling them to consecrate all the first born to Him.
• Consecrate is a word that means “SET APART” from common use to sacred use. The foundation of this duty to honor the Lord is based on the mercy and grace that the Israelites received when they were in Egypt.
• God is asking for the first and the best from the Israelites.
• It is therefore considered to be a token of gratitude considering all that the Lord has done, who by His special mercy, spared them.
• The Lord gave further instructions for All the first-born male that open the womb including all clean animal but that of unclean animals shall be redeemed.

FREED TO WORSHIP HIM

• Yahweh is beginning to set up a new relationship with His people. For over 400 years, they possibly have assimilated to a lot of the African culture and religion in Egypt.
• God is setting up how He would want them to begin a process of worship by clearing the home of all leaven or yeast in the home.
• The Lord set up the feast of the unleavened bread. Exodus 12: 14 – 20 gave initial detailed information about the unleavened bread feast.
• It is a 7-day feast immediately from Passover and there would be a holy assembly unto the Lord on the first day and also on the 7^th day. Prior to these seven days period, every Hebrew family must have the home completely swept clean from any leaven or yeast.
• There must not be a trace of a leaven in any home in order to worship God as ordained the Yahweh and with pure and holy conscience towards God.
• The first day of Unleavened bread is when they sacrifice the Passover lamb (Matthew 26: 17; Mk 14: 12
• This is to be passed on from generation to generation. Again, Yahweh is very concern about our children being educated and instructed in the things of the Lord.

FREED TO TRUST HIM

• The shorter, quicker route is not the preferred route by God’s providence….. it is the longer route, by way of wilderness with little or no shelter and water and by the red sea that we will soon learn about soon.
• God sees what they could not see.
• He knew the Philistines were warriors, courageous and bold people.
• The Israelites at this time are not prepared for war, fearful if Pharaoh and the Egyptians would still catch up with them, tired, broken hearted and a cowardly disposition as a result of long servitude in slavery.

There are possibly other reasons while the Lord led them the longer route. Could that include to:

• Increase their trust in Yahweh?
• Rid them of Egypt and all its influence in their life.
• Humble them, try them, and prove them as His own?
• Wilderness solitude.
• Seeing the final destruction of Pharaoh and his armies?
• Seeing miracles upon miracles of God’s love, mercy, and providence for them?

Bones of Joseph – Joseph made them swear in Genesis 50:25. It’s a reminder of God’s faithfulness and promise.

Miracles of Pillar of cloud and of fire – GPS (God’s Positioning System) – Leading them, shielding them, protecting them, covering them, guiding them, keeping them warn and sheltering them from intense sun.

Take Home: God saved  us to make Himself known and to serve Him.

Exodus 12 – Sermon Notes

The innocent dying for the guilty has transforming power.

I’m indebted to Pastor Voddie Baucham for our first 2 truths today. 

Kill the lamb.

Apply the blood.

To Pastor’s Voddie’s truths, lets add 3 more.

Trust God’s word.

Go out to serve.

Remember together.

1. Kill the Lamb. vv. 5-6

Kill the lamb? This sounds archaic to our modern, western ears. This seems grotesque, ugly, brutal, extreme. It’s hard to wrap our minds around it. It hurts our hearts. Kill the lambs? How many were killed by “the whole assembly”?

Later in Exodus 12:37 we learn that there were 600,000 Jewish men who were enslaved in Egypt. Likely there was more than one man per household when you consider extended families – fathers, grandfathers, adult sons, uncles, nephews. And small families joined together with other small families for the sacrifice. So, there weren’t 600,000 lambs sacrificed. But there were tens of thousands of lambs sacrificed at that first Passover. Imagine the amount of death, destruction, brutality, bloodshed.

Why does God require a sacrifice? Why should an innocent animal die in order to protect a people?

This extreme brutality of the sacrifice shows us the extreme atrocity of our sin.

A 12^th Century Jewish Rabbi, Maimonides, in a book, Guide for the Perplexed, wrote, “The significance of the blood in the sacrificial system was to teach the people the gravity of their sins.”

It wasn’t just the Egyptians, the oppressors, who were guilty of sin against a holy God. You see, the sins of the Jewish people – even though they were the oppressed – made them just as guilty in the sight of God as the sins of the Egyptians. And God is never casual about sin. He wants people to see how horrible it is so they will turn from it.

When an innocent lamb must die to rescue the guilty, the person being rescued – the person whose sin is being atoned for – is meant to think, “If it requires the death of the innocent Lamb to save me, then my sin is more awful than I could possibly imagine. So, I repent!”

The extreme barbarity of the sacrifice points out the extreme depravity of our sin.

Yes. Killing the lamb is brutal. Yes. It’s bloody. Yes. It sounds strange to our sensitive ears. But the extreme awfulness of the death of the lamb so this deliverance could take place shows these Hebrews the extreme ugliness of their sin.

Kill the lamb.

2. Apply the blood. v. 7 

When the Jewish people first immigrated to Egypt, they likely lived in tents. But over time they learned how to construct houses – probably like the Egyptian houses – with doors. And so the command from the LORD comes.

The blood applied is not for the LORD. It’s an opportunity for the people to demonstrate their faith in the LORD. God says, “Dip the hyssop into the lamb’s blood…” Hyssop is a plant kind of like our lavender plant. The small leaves would collect the blood so it could be applied.

Imagine you’re the Jewish first-born in the family and you’re learning that God said, “I want you to apply the blood on the doorposts and lintel or else the first born will die tonight.” You’re thinking: “Ho about the whole house! I don’t want the destroyer to enter this house. Hey dad, how about we apply the blood everywhere!”  

But all you need is to apply the blood across the lintel, down one side, and then down the other.

I’ve heard pastors say that this blood on the top and the sides of the door is to remind us of the cross. But that’s never been quite convincing for me. The application of the blood kind of has the shape of the cross, but not fully.

In my study this week, I came across a quote from a 13^th Century Jewish scholar, Rabbi Hezekiah ben Manoah. He wrote a commentary on the Torah, including Exodus. He says, “The blood on the entrances of the homes of the Israelites should form the equivalent of the Hebrew letter chet… [which is] a symbol of the word chayyim, [which means] life.”

Some Bible students even call that Hebrew letter, Chet, the “letter of life.” When you put the blood on the doorpost of your house, you are obeying the LORD who will protect life there. You’re not going to have death.

So, it could be that God is saying, “If you want the death of the innocent to atone for the sin of the guilty, then apply the blood to make the sign of life on the door of your house. And because of My patience and My mercy, the destroyer will pass over your house. Everyone inside will be safe.”

When the destroyer sees the blood on the door in the shape of the symbol for life, He sees the faith of the ones inside. The innocent has died for the guilty. So, He passes over. But if the blood is not applied, the firstborn will die.

Apply the blood.

3. Trust God’s word. vv. 12-13

In the homes of some of these Egyptians were babies, toddlers, and children. Why did they have to die? If an extended family was living together, a grandfather in a home could have been the firstborn of his parents and living with a son in that home who was his firstborn also living with a little grandchild in the home who is a firstborn. So, some of these Egyptian families suffered multiple deaths that night.

What did all these firstborn people, including children, have to do with the oppression and stubbornness of Pharoah? It’s not their responsibility that the Jewish people were slaves.

I was talking about this with a friend this week who has roots in the Middle East. Pastor Juri Amari said, “In the West, we are so radically individualistic. We pretty much reject the idea of communal responsibility. But in the Middle East, people understand that responsibility is collective and that guilt must be shared. The slavery of the Jewish people brought benefits to every Egyptian.

Remember, Egypt had oppressed the people of God. All the people enjoyed the benefits. They allowed Pharoah to go unchecked, unchallenged, unopposed. So, all the Egyptians were complicit in the oppression of the Jews. God holds them all responsible!

Whether we like it or not – whether we agree with Him or not, the LORD’s sovereign plan is perfect and good. As Pastor Joe said, “God has the power to give life. God has the power to take life. No life starts without Him. No life stops without Him.”

So, if He sees all of the Egyptians as complicit with Pharoah and holds them accountable, then He is right and good and just in doing so.

Back in Exodus 4, before the signs and wonders even began, God told Moses to warn Pharoah.

You won’t let Israel, My firstborn, go? Then your firstborn will die. Out of His patience and mercy God gave Pharoah and the Egyptians 9 opportunities to repent. But they would not. So now, the Hero – the LORD God – who isn’t always in a hurry is about to hurry up… in His sovereignty to bring justice.

Now, if I were a Jewish firstborn back in that day and I heard that all the firstborn were about to die, I’d be tempted to be terrified. But don’t miss the promise of deliverance given to God’s people.

13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

God says, “You don’t have to be terrified. Kill the lamb and apply the blood and no plague will befall you to destroy you.”

If the people of Israel will kill the lamb, apply the blood, and stay inside because they trust God’s word, they will be safe.

Trust God’s word.

4. Go out to serve. vv. 30-31

The LORD had told His people, “Eat unleavened bread” (v. 9). Why? You’re going to be in a hurry to leave Egypt. You’re not going to have time for the leaven – the yeast – to cause the dough to rise. And eat bitter herbs (v. 9) to remind you of the bitterness of your slavery and servitude and oppression in Egypt and how you want to hurry and leave it all behind. And eat with your belt fastened, with sandals on your feet, and with your staff in your hand (v. 11). Why? You have to be ready to go; to hurry; to leave Egypt; to leave the false gods; to leave your slavery behind.

God, the Hero, who isn’t always in a hurry, has hurried up and wants His people to hurry up. He’s saying, “I Am the One who did this to demonstrate that none of the Egyptian gods can stand before Me. I Am the One who did this to demonstrate that only I have the power of life and death. I Am the One who did this so that you would know, trust, and serve Me, the LORD, the great I Am, the One who is full of patience and mercy but who is also sovereign and just.

Go out to serve… the LORD!

5. Remember together. v. 14

This chapter is filled with instructions on when and how the Jewish people are to celebrate the Passover. Every spring, gather your family, kill the lamb, eat unleavened bread with bitter herbs. And when your kids ask, “Why are we doing this?” tell the story of how I, the LORD, rescued your ancestors so you could be free to serve Me!

The Passover meal was an act of worship.  

At CVC Brunswick last week, Pastor Josh pointed out, “In the original [Hebrew] language, the… line reads ‘and the people bowed and bowed.’ Two different words are used in verse 27 for ‘bowed’ with different emphases. One word emphasizes the external (bowing the head) and the other emphasizes the internal (bowing the heart).”

When the lamb was killed, the blood applied, the people trusted God’s word and were set free, they were transformed inside and out!

When you are set free by God, it will change you externally. God’s grace changes your habits, your lifestyle, your use of time and money. And when you are set free by God, it will change you internally. God’s grace changes your desires, your joys, your hopes and dreams.

A bowed head without a bowed heart is just religion – external only, just going through the motions. God does not want this kind of relationship with you. He won’t have it. A bowed heart without a bowed head is just emotion – internal only, just temporary hype. But a bowed head AND a bowed heart is true devotion – an internal AND an external response to God which leads to transformation and real worship.

Remember together.

God has a Lamb for you, too. When Jesus began His public ministry, His cousin, John, introduced him, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world“ (John 1:29).

The tens of thousands of lambs who died at the first Passover appointing to the Ultimate Lamb, who would die once for all for your sins and mine. In I Corinthians 5:7 we read, “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” Over and over in scripture, Jesus is called the Lamb.

For those of us who may still be struggling with the deaths of those innocent animals and the deaths of all the firstborn in Egypt and wonder, “What kind of God would do such a thing?“ don’t overlook the fact that God is not some merciless dispenser of justice. His justice is mingled with mercy. And because of that, God’s own Firstborn and God’s own Lamb had to die. It was the only way for any of us to be saved. And that means that God Himself knows what it is to suffer, to experience injustice.

Kill the Lamb. Well, we really don’t have to kill the Lamb because our Father in heaven has already done that by sending His Son into the world to give His life as a ransom so that the world could be saved through Him.

But even though it was God, the Father, who crushed His Son, we did participate in His death. I’m the guilty one, and so are you. Jesus was the Innocent One. When He was on trial for His life, no one could find any fault in Him. He was qualified to be the Lamb of God because He was unblemished.  I Peter 1:18-19 says, “You were ransomed… not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” He died in our place. God made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. My sins, and yours, killed Him. Kill the lamb.

Apply the blood. Remember, in ancient Israel, the blood was applied on the doorposts and the lintel to make the letter Chet, the Hebrew letter for life.

When Jesus walked this planet, He had the audacity to say about Himself, “I am the Door“ in John 10:7. And just a few verses later, He said, “I have come that you might have life.” He’s the Door, defeating death and bringing life.

When the blood of Jesus is applied on the doorposts and the lintel of your heart, death is defeated and you get eternal life forevermore. Apply the blood. 

Believe God’s word. In John 5:24 Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.“ Believe! Not just in your head, but also from your heart. Trust. Rely. Depend on. Believe God‘s word.

Go out to serve. When someone innocent sacrifices themselves for the guilty, everything changes. You don’t stay in Egypt. You don’t stay in slavery. You leave the world behind. You leave your sin. You forsake it. And just like the ancient Jews were in a hurry to leave their Egypt and slavery and false gods behind, so we, too, must be in a hurry to repent and to live in spiritual freedom.

If there’s no “go out to serve“ in your life, then you have to answer tough questions: “Have I ever truly appreciated and received the benefits of the death of the Lamb? Has the blood of Jesus truly been applied to my life? Have I truly believed God‘s word?”

Remember those soldiers in the Japanese POW camp who saw the innocent willingly die to save them? They were transformed. If you’ve not been truly transformed, then you haven’t really grasped the significance of what Jesus has done for you. Go out and serve.

Professor and Biblical Scholar D. A. Carson illustrates the power of the blood of the Lamb.

Picture two Jewish men the day before the first Passover in Exodus 12. They’ve been living as slaves in captivity in Egypt all their lives. Their names? Smith and Brown, remarkably Jewish names!

They’re having a sobering conversation there where they’ve been living in the land of Goshen. And Smith asks Brown, “Are you a little nervous about what’s going to happen tonight?”

And Brown says, “Well, God told us what to do through His servant, Moses. We don’t have to be nervous. Have you slaughtered the lamb and sprinkled the two doorposts with blood, and put blood on the lintel? Have you done that? Are you going to eat the Passover meal with your whole family? Are you all ready and packed to go?”

And Smith answers, “Of course. I’ve done all that. But I’m still scared. Think of all the things that have happened around here – flies, frogs, hail, and the river turning to blood. It’s been awful. And now there’s a threat of the firstborn being killed? Maybe you’re not worried as much as me because you have 3 sons – if one dies you’ll have 2 left. I’ve only got 1 son. And I love my boy. Moses said that the angel of death is passing through tonight. I know Moses told us what the LORD said. So, I’ve put the blood on the door. But I’m terrified. What’s going to happen tonight?”

And Brown responds, “Bring it on. I’m trusting the promises of God.”

Well, that night the angel of death swept through the land. Which of those two Jews lost his son?

The answer, of course, is neither. Death doesn’t pass over them because of the intensity or the strength or the purity or the clarity of their faith. Death passed over them because of the blood of the lamb. That’s what saves. The blood silences the accuser and sets us free.

It’s not the strength of our faith that saves us – that forgives us. It’s the object of our faith. It’s the blood of the Lamb! 

Remember together. Just as God gave the ancient Israelis instructions on how to celebrate that first Passover, we’ve been given instructions on how to celebrate the death of the Lamb of God in our behalf. Their celebration of the Passover was given to them to help them and us see the Jesus is the fulfillment of the Jewish Passover. Their feast was meant to point everyone to ours. Today, we call it the Lord’s Supper. For 2000 years Christians have remembered together.   

Exodus 11 Sermon Notes

Pastor Joe Valenti

‌Last week we spoke of God’s mercy and his patience — two vital characteristics of God. But we cannot be good students of the Bible or faithful Christians if we neglect the parts of God’s character that are difficult for us. ‌This week we look to God’s sovereignty and his justice.

‌‌Exodus 11:1-10

‌‌Point #1: God is more sovereign than you think.

‌‌Nothing happens in the world that God is outside of God’s power. In his book “No One Like Him” John Feinberg notes that sovereignty is closely related to God’s omnipotence. Omnipotence tells us how MUCH power God has – all power – he is God almighty. Sovereignty speaks to the scope of that power. God being sovereign means that he is the ultimate, final, and complete authority over everything and everyone.

In this passage I see several statements that speak to the sovereignty of God.

• ‌vv. 1-2 : Pharaoh is going to let them go this time – even push them out
• ‌vv. 2-3: The Hebrews will leave rich with the gold and silver of the Egyptians
• ‌vv. 4-6: All of the firstborn will die – no one else can do this – only an all powerful, sovereign God.
• ‌vv. 7: No trouble will come upon the people of Egypt

‌And we see this not only in this short interchange, but if we go back in the story, we’ve been seeing the sovereign hand of God at work all along.  ‌

‌​Genesis 12:1–3, ​Genesis 15:13–14, Genesis 45:4–8

And, we see at the end of Genesis – an interaction with Joseph’s brothers where they are worried he is going to kill them for all of the wrongs that they did to him. And he reminds them that God is sovereign even over evil people doing evil things – in his perfect plan he means them and uses them for good.

God, in his sovereignty is doing exactly what he had planned. God rules and reigns over Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers. God rules and reigns over Joseph’s interpretations of dreams that get him a hearing with the ruler of Egypt. God rules and reigns over the famine that allows for Joseph’s God given organizational talents to be on display. God rules and reigns over a new Pharaoh coming to rule and enslaving the Hebrew people for 400 years. And God rules and reigns over the tenth sign – in which he will strike down the firstborn in all of Egypt.

‌God is all powerful and sovereign even over life and death. God is the only one who gives life and takes life. Not a single person is born outside of God’s sovereign plan. And not a single person dies outside of God’s sovereign plan. There are no accidents.

‌‌Let’s look at a few examples:

• ‌‌1 Samuel 2:1-7
• Psalm 115:3
• Ephesians 1:11

God holds within himself the ultimate power of life and death – so whether you die at 2 or 102, no one dies outside of God’s sovereign plan. God is more sovereign than you might be comfortable with. This is the epidemic of our time – replacing the one true God with the idols we create in our mind of how we think God should be.

‌‌Job 42:1–6

‌God is sovereign – he rules and reigns perfectly and finally over all things and people. And when we encounter this God – even in situations we do not understand, our right response is to follow Job and submit to his sovereign rule – recognizing that we don’t have the capacity to know the beginning from the end like he can. If you or I were given the responsibility to be in charge tomorrow, we would be terribly inadequate. Only God is God.

‌Point #1: God is more sovereign than you might realize.

‌Point #2: God is more just than you might realize.

‌‌‌​Exodus 11:4–6

Up until this point, God caused the signs and wonders but the animals and the weather did the work. The Locusts ate all the vegetation, the hail killed everything that was outside, the disease caused the livestock to die. But here – God intends to do the work. God himself with go throughout the land of Egypt and take the life of every firstborn in Egypt. And it is right that God should do this. God has been exceedingly merciful to Pharaoh and his people. God has been extraordinarily patient with Pharaoh – and still the desire of his heart is for himself, his own power, his own arrogance, and his own way. And so, God brings the judgement that Pharaoh deserves

‌‌Exodus 12:29

And this a theme that we see throughout the Bible – God is just – God will punish the wicked.

• Psalm 37:8–10
• Psalm 37:27–28

This is not the last place that we see plagues in the bible. ‌ Revelation tells the story of how the world as we know it will end, how God will judge the wicked once-and-for-all, and how he will usher his people into the new heavens and the new earth for eternity.

Revelation 16:1–11

‌The story continues for several chapters. The wicked remain unrepentant, they amass for war – as many as sands on the sea shore – for war against God. And fire comes down from heaven and destroys them all. It’s not even a battle. And Satan is judged and thrown into the lake of fire – the place of eternal, bodily misery for all who have opposed God and not bowed to his sovereign Kingship. And then we read of the final judgement of all humanity

‌Revelation 20:11–15

‌‌We can discount and disregard the justice of God so often and for so long that we are jarred by its appearance in a sermon or in the Bible. We are prone to prefer the tame version of Jesus that we’ve created by pulling out on the portions of the bible that make us feel warm and fuzzy inside. But let us not forget that Jesus is both Lamb AND Lion.

‌He is the lion of the tribe of Judah that will come like the angel of death and cut down everything and everyone that is opposed to his rule and reign. And their eternity will be in the lake of fire. Justice will be fully and finally done at his hands.

‌But just like Pharaoh and the people of Egypt, we have these warnings. It says it right here in Revelation and throughout the Scriptures – that opposed God will bring consequences. The question on the table today is whether or not you’re going to believe the truth of God’s sovereignty and  justice and respond to his mercy and patience while there is still available for you.

‌What God did is pretty extraordinary. In his perfect sovereign plan that rules and reigns over everything and everyone, he did something unexpected. He planned and implemented a moment in history where his mercy and patience collide with his sovereignty and Justice. God the Father planned for the life of God the Son, Jesus Christ, to be taken on your behalf.

‌We look at the taking of the lives of the firstborn throughout Egypt and we ask, how can God do this!? But then we see that God did not spare his own son, but cut his only son down in the middle of his prime, dead on a cross, murdered for crimes he did not commit, so that you and I might not have to face the justice that we deserve. Jesus takes on himself the punishment for your sin and he gives you his righteousness in return.

Exodus 7-10 Sermon Notes

Pastor Joe Valenti

Exodus 7:14–24

‌Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go.

Exodus 7:14

‌I believe that God making Pharaoh’s heart hard is actually God’s mercy to Pharaoh – it is GOOD for Pharaoh. A better way to understand this phrase “hardness of heart” is an “unyielding will.” God is not overcoming Pharaoh’s will and MAKING him obstinate against his will. He’s actually bolstering Pharaoh’s ability to get and do what he wants. Pharaoh has ZERO desire to let the people of Israel go, zero desire to relinquish his authority, zero interest in submitting to Yahweh, and we will see this played out. And we’ll see that as the signs and wonders continue. Yahweh’s aim is for Pharaoh and all of Egypt and all of the Hebrews to KNOW him.

Exodus 8:1–7

God is on a mission to destroy your self-reliance. One of the best ways that we get to know God and realize the folly of our self-reliance is when the the idols in our life – the things that we THINK are enough are taken away.

The Nile is the source of life of Egypt. No plumbing, no bottled water – the Nile provides water – the most important thing for life to continue to humans, livestock, plants, etc. Without the Nile, Egypt ceases to exists – everything dies. ‌And God performs his first sign on the Nile to begin the process of showing everyone that the Nile is not responsible for their life. Hapi – the goddess of the Nile is no god at all. HE is the source of all life. He gives and takes away.

Exodus 8:8-10:29

Through these signs and wonders, God is not only teaching Pharaoh a lesson, he is teaching the WORLD for all time a lesson. Pastor Rick said it last week – as soon as God lifts his hand and provides relief, some of us go right back to our idolatry. So, he strengthens Pharaoh’s will because God is not done teaching the lesson that fake repentance is no repentance at all. If your repentance is not from the heart, it is worldly grief that leads to death – and God is too merciful to you and me to let us go on thinking that pretending to love God while our will is still set on doing what we want is is good for us.

God is more merciful than  you think.

God is more patient than you think.

The Hebrew word behind patience means “long in the nose.”  Hebrew uses the hotness of ones nose to communicate their anger. So, if you’re long in the nose, it means it takes you a long time to get angry – similar to our phrase of someone having a short fuse or a long fuse. God is long in the nose. Slow to become angry.

What do we do with this merciful and patient God?

• ‌We stop playing these games
• ‌We stop going back to our idolatry
• ‌We run to him and repent

Exodus 7-10 Sermon Notes

Pastor Rick Duncan

God’s people had been in Egypt for 400 years. At first they were welcomed, but then they became slaves. God promised to rescue them and take them to their Promised Land. He sent a deliverer, Moses. But instead of letting the people go, Egypt’s king, Pharoah, made things more difficult than ever for the slaves to do their work.

Why does God send troubles and hardships and difficulties and trials and plagues?

A long time ago, I learned that God uses troubles…

• to direct us.
• to inspect us.
• to perfect us.
• to correct us.
• to connect us.

Here’s a summary of the first 9 plagues. Next week, Pastor Joe will dive into these with more detail.

The pattern is basically the same.

• Moses confronts Pharoah and quotes the LORD, “Let My people go that they may serve Me.”
• Pharoah says, “No!”
• Moses says, “Here’s the plague that’s coming then! And it’s going to happen so you will know that the LORD is the LORD!”
• Here comes the plague.
• The Egyptian people suffer, while the Jews are spared.
• Moses visits Pharoah afterward and says, “Now will you let the people go?”
• Pharoah’s heart is hardened.

With some variations, this happens 9 times!

Plague #1. Water turns to blood.

Plague #2. Frogs cover the land.

Plague #3. Gnats cover the land.

Plague #4. Flies swarm across the land.

Plague #5. Livestock dies in Egypt.

Plague #6. Boils break out in sores on man and beast.

Plague #7. Hail falls and kills men, animals, trees, and plants in the fields.

Plague #8. Locusts eat everything.

Plague #9. Darkness covers the land.

A friend of mine is Jonathan Parnell, Pastor of Cities Church in Minneapolis. He says, “[The LORD] is intervening into the natural world; He is reaching into space and time; and He is causing each of these things to happen with scrupulous intention: Here, not there. Those, not these. Tomorrow, not today.”

Some scholars see these first 9 plagues as groups of 3: 1-3, 4-6, 7-9.

In the first plague in each set – 1, 4, and 7 – Moses goes to the river early in the morning to warn Pharoah about what’s coming. In the second plague in each set – 2, 5, and 8 – Moses goes to warn Pharoah in the palace. In the last plague in each set – 3, 6, and 9 – there’s no warning. The plagues just come.

My dad had a commentary on Exodus that I’ve been using for my study. It was written by A.W. Pink. It’s so cool to see what my dad underlined and to read the notes he made in the margin. About the 3 sets of the first 9 plagues, my dad wrote 3 words in the margin of his book: Comfort, Possessions, Health.

Pink wrote, “The progressive nature of these plagues is easily perceived… The first three interfered merely with the comfort of the Egyptians… In the second three, the Lord’s hand was laid on their possessions… The last three brought desolation and death” (Arthur W. Pink, Gleanings in Exodus, p. 60).

Biblical scholars have identified three major time periods in the Bible when clusters of miracles occurred:

1. Moses and the Exodus and the conquest of Canaan,
2. the ministries of the prophets, especially Elijah and Elisha, and
3. the ministries of Jesus, the disciples, and the establishment of the Church.

God’s normal way of working is through natural causes. But at certain pivotal, strategic times in redemptive history, God works in miraculous ways. That’s what’s happening here.

In his book “The Everlasting Man,” G.K. Chesterton wrote, “The belief in miracles is the belief not in what is beyond [natural law] but in what is behind natural law.” And what is behind natural law? The LORD!

KNOW

Seven times in chapters 7-10 we are given God’s reason for the 10 plagues.

“By this you shall know that I am the LORD…” (Exodus 7:17).

“… so that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God” (Exodus 8:10).

“… that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth” (Exodus 8:22).

“… so that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth” (Exodus 9:14).

“… so that My name may be proclaimed in all the earth” (Exodus 9:16).

“… so that you may know that the earth is the LORD’s” (Exodus 9:29).

“… that you may know that I am the LORD” (Exodus 10:2).

These 10 plagues reveal the LORD – YHWH – as self-existent, all-sufficient, Sovereign, accountable to no one except Himself! We see here His holiness, His authority, His power, and His might. It’s not just Pharoah who needs to know the LORD. All men, women, girls, and boys everywhere need to know Him. 

TRUST

Many pastors over the years have made the point that each individual plague is a challenge to a specific Egyptian god. For example, the LORD turning the Nile River into blood showed that the LORD was the true God as opposed to the Egyptian god, Hapi, who was the god of the Nile – the supposed lord of the river who made things fertile. The LORD defeats Hopi!

But the text itself makes no mention of any particular god being defeated by individual judgment. Dr. Gary E. Schnittjer, professor of the Old Testament at Cairn University reminds us that we have no “license to read into the narrative a specific blow-by-blow list of the supposed deities whom [the LORD] defeated.”

Now, while we can’t make a one-to-one correlation between a every plague and an Egyptian god, the plagues do show that the LORD is greater than the gods of this world.

The LORD Himself explains what He’s doing in chapter 12: “… and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD” (Exodus 12:12). YHWH – the LORD – is greater than Egypt’s gods.Moses’ father-in-law makes an observation about the plagues and the Exodus in chapter 18: “Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods…” (Exodus 18:11). YHWH – the LORD – is greater than Egypt’s gods.And later in Numbers 33, we read, “On their gods also the LORD executed judgments” (Numbers 33:4).

So, the plagues and the entire Exodus event demonstrate that the LORD is greater than any false god that man might be tempted to trust.

SERVE

When Moses confronts Pharoah, 6 out of 9 times he relays to Pharoah the LORD’s message. We read it in chapters, 7, 8, 9, and 10.

“Let My people go, that they may serve Me…”

Exodus 7:16, 8:1, 8:20, 9:1, 9:13, 10:3

Serve. In the Hebrew language, it’s a root word – a broad word! “Pharoah, you’re not the master. The LORD is! You must let the people go so they can live for Him, not for you – so they can serve Him, not you!

Serving is worshipping – putting the LORD first, offering sacrifices, observing the holy days, rededicating themselves to the LORD. Service is obedience – observing the LORD’s commands, being holy, living righteously. Serving is bringing justice – caring for the poor, the widows, the orphans, the refugees; showing compassion.

After the Exodus, just before the people went into the Promised Land they were challenged. “Put away the gods that your fathers served in Egypt! Choose this day whom you will serve… As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:14-15).