Fleeing Egypt: The Call to Leave Sin Behind - Saved for the Glory of God | Studies in the book of Exodus

For all of us here, no matter who you are, at one stage or another

in your life, you've had to learn a skill to do the job that

you currently do or that you've done.

And those skills have either been handed down from one generation

to the next.

Maybe it's in the home, maybe it's on the farm, or maybe it's out

at sea.

Other skills were picked up more formally through an apprenticeship

or at college and university, while others have been developed

over years of on the job training or refresher courses.

We all have skills that we need for the work that we do.

And these skills have equipped us to do our jobs and to do them

well, because that's the whole point.

It's the whole point of why we learn to do things so that in the

end we can do them well.

On the farm, no one plants seed in the morning and expects to

harvest by the afternoon.

We know that it takes time.

The soil must be prepared, the seed must grow, and the farmer must

wait patiently for the right season.

And you know, you can replicate this idea to all of the

work that we do in it takes time to ensure that the job is done

well.

For many of you here, you're a tradesperson, you ply your trade

very well.

I've seen you at work in the months whenever you've come to do

different jobs, whether it be an electrician or a carpenter and

joiner, or a plumber.

It takes time.

You can't just stop the leak, you can't just make the light work.

You simply can't just clap your hands and a door appears in

the frame.

It takes time.

It's a craft, it's a skill, and you all do it so very well because

of the training and experience that you've had.

Now, last week we learned that Moses was someone who was going to

be a savior for God's people.

Not the savior, but, but a savior.

This was not a self appointment by Moses, but it was

a role that God had given Moses.

And God had ensured that Moses would be this savior for his people

by preserving him for the day when he would rescue God's people.

In the Exodus and in our passage this morning, we see that

Moses wanted to reap the harvest of fruit for his people right

away.

But God still had a long season of preparation ahead before

he would be ready to lead.

He didn't clap his hands like a joiner might wish to do in the

door appear.

It would take time for Moses to be ready for the job and the task

and the skill that would be ahead of him to lead God's people

out of Egypt.

From the very beginning, though, we know that Moses was different.

The text describes Moses mother Jochebed as noticing this

as soon as he was born, because verse two of chapter two

told us when she saw that he was a fine child.

It's the King James version that renders this more beautifully

that there was something of him that was in him that could be

identified.

This wasn't just a mother pouring out her love of over her

baby.

There was something different.

And Even in Acts 7:20, as Stephen is standing before the Sanhedrin,

Acts 7:20

he describes Moses in this way.

At that time, Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child.

For three months he was cared for in his father's house.

And we know what that means.

Moses was different, not just in a mother gushing over their baby,

but in understanding the deeper meanings of the Hebrew language.

Stephen was able to recognize that he was no ordinary child from

the very beginning.

What does he say?

No ordinary child.

Because for three months, hidden, not wanting to be discovered,

he was cared for in his father's house.

And so from birth, there's something that is supernaturally

known about him.

And so his journey of being kept alive begins.

Because, as we know from last week, the decree had been made that

all boys were to be thrown into the Nile.

But Jochebed just couldn't do it.

So Moses is placed in a basket, another word for an ark,

and set adrift down the river.

And who finds him?

Only Pharaoh's daughter.

And she takes him as her own, because it turns out she has a heart

as well.

She can't let this baby be left in the Nile and whatever crocodiles

would come his way.

And so his formative years are spent then with his mother.

Although Pharaoh's daughter doesn't know the true identity of

Jochebed, only that she is a Hebrew woman to whom Moses is entrusted

to.

But the time must come, as verse 10 tells us, when Moses is

brought to the palace and grows up as a grandson Pharaoh.

And in verse 11, we jump over many years, approximately 40, and

see the man that Moses has become.

And it appears that his upbringing by his mother has taught

him, at the very least, to show concern for the Hebrew slaves.

But this has developed so much that Moses knows who he truly is.

He knows he's not an Egyptian.

He looks different than his mother, adoptive mother.

He looks different than his adoptive grandfather.

And so he knows truly who he is.

And in verse 11 we read one day, after Moses had grown up, he

went out to where his own people were and watched them at their

hard labor.

He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.

Now, do you notice here, twice in this verse, they are described

as his own people.

This is not a narrator trying to give us extra information.

How this is constructed tells us that it is Moses who knows that

these are his own people.

And so, one other thing we must note before we get into too

much of this.

As Moses is out looking and surveying and seeing his people,

it's important to know that from the outset of this passage,

Moses has not yet been called, nor has he been commissioned to rescue

God's people.

We only know this because of the story that unfolds that we're

familiar with.

But to this point, Moses does not know what his commission and

his calling will be.

So what we're seeing here in this passage is Moses taking things

into his own hands.

But we can identify with the sympathy that he has with his people.

And as he identifies with them, we see him leaving behind the

ways of Egyptian life, the life that he had come to know so

well.

He had become an Egyptian, because there's no mistake in the

text saying that he went out to where his own people were.

You see, this is the first indication that he's turning his

back on all the security of the Egyptian court, and he is being

prepared for the task that he will undertake in the years to come.

And so, as he goes out, his own personal exodus from everything

Egyptian, leaving the palace and going down to where the slaves

worked, he observes how the Hebrews are being treated.

He sees their hard work, and he sees the unfairness of the Egyptian

slave masters.

He sees the pain.

He sees the suffering.

And he witnesses one of the slave masters beating a Hebrew.

And Moses reacts immediately to this, and he takes action.

He says in verse 12, glancing this way and that and seeing no one,

he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

This is a condemning verse for Moses.

What do you do when you don't want to get caught?

You look this way, you look that way, you make sure no one's

looking.

And then what do you do?

Well, you hide the evidence, be it something as simple as having

a cookie out of the jar that you're not supposed to have.

To this most grievous of sins in the murder of this Egyptian.

Now, what is interesting is that the word here killed in verse

12 of Exodus 2 is the same word used in the previous verse for

beating.

Now, whether Moses simply wanted to give the Egyptian a taste

of his own medicine, and give him a lesson, or whether he was intent

on taking his life.

The outcome was the murder of the Egyptian.

And we can see that Moses knows that he has done wrong.

If he was justified as a prince of Egypt in the killing of

the man, he wouldn't have been afraid at all.

Because as a prince of Egypt, he had the right of wielding the

sword.

In other words, authority was given to him as a son of the royal

court, adopted or not, to be able to give and take life, because

remember, the royal family are divine.

You were to worship the Pharaoh.

And so from the Pharaoh came this right to give and to take life.

But Moses knows he's not on the side of law.

And this is revealed to us by his burying of the Egyptian so that

his actions are not discovered.

But be sure your sins will find you out, because there has been

a witness.

And isn't it funny?

The times we think we can get away with things, it turns out we

can't because there will always be a witness.

The slave whom the Egyptian was beating has witnessed it all.

And as Moses goes out the next day, once again to go out to where

his own people are, he is challenged by his actions.

Because this time he sees two Hebrews fighting and he goes over

to settle their argument.

Now, this interaction doesn't go as Moses think it should.

Rather than being the one to defuse the situation, he is challenged

about his authority to intervene.

Because verse 14 of Exodus 2 tells us, the man said, who made

you ruler and judge over us?

Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?

Then Moses was afraid and thought, what I did must have become

known.

Now, whether this man was the one whom Moses intervened the day

before, or whether word has got around the Hebrew camp, we don't

know.

But in this one moment, everything changes for Moses.

He thought he'd got away, quite literally with murder, but

he hadn't.

His action is known and it has not gone down well.

The Hebrew who he is wanting to protect, doesn't respect the assumed

authority that Moses is taking.

In fact, it will be another 40 years before Moses will have the

respect of the children of Israel.

Moses panics and Moses flees.

He knows that murder is wrong.

And as word gets back to Pharaoh, great fear overcomes him.

And so he heads out into the wilderness.

His true exodus from Egypt to a place called Midian, located in

southeastern Sinai.

I don't know if you're familiar with the book and maybe

more so the movie the Hiding Place.

Well, there's a very bloody scene in that film that illustrates

the danger of answering violence with violence.

The movie shows how two Dutch Christians, Corrie Ten Boom and her

sister Betsy, were taken to the Nazi concentration camp at Ravensbruck,

where they were imprisoned for harboring Jews in their home during

the Second World War.

Now one day, as Betsy was savagely attacked by one of the guards

for not meeting her work quota, Corrie imagined, only imagined,

taking a pic axe and hacking the Nazi to death.

By this point in the film, there's hardly anyone who's watching

it who would not be willing to grab the axe handle and help.

But that is not the way God wants his people to combat evil.

And as that movie often portrays, it is Corrie's sister Betsy

who stands more for the truth of Christ than at moments Corrie

does, because as Betsy said to her sister, no hate, Corrie, no hate.

Why does she say this?

Because hatred is not the way of the cross, nor is violence the

way of Christ.

And if you don't believe me, listen to these words that Jesus

tells us in Matthew 5, 38, 39.

You have heard that it was said, eye for eye and tooth for tooth.

But I tell you, do not resist an evil person.

If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other

also.

You see in this incident In Exodus chapter 2, it reveals to us

Exodus 2 · chapter mention

what we need to understand through Moses, that there is a standard

by which God calls us to live by.

It is his standard and not the standard of the world.

That's what it means to be his people, that we live by his way.

And you've heard me say this again and again.

There is a standard in Scripture that God calls us to.

And that will be a standard that even Moses must follow.

Because it turns out that 40 odd years later, he will be the one

who will tell the people of God, you shall not kill in the ten

Commandments.

You see, Moses knows he hasn't done right.

But Moses will learn and will become the man God will use to rescue

his people.

Like any of us who have a skill, it must be learned and it

must be practiced.

And that's what's going to happen with Moses.

He will learn and he will practice and he will be used by God

to rescue the children of Israel.

And this is the case for Moses.

And so, as is the case with every text of Scripture, we let the

Bible help us to interpret it.

And in the great passage of faith in Hebrews 11, we get a greater

insight into what is really going on here.

Because in Hebrews 11, 25, 26, we're told Moses chose To be mistreated

along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures

of sin.

For a short time, he regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as

of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was

looking ahead to his reward.

Moses wasn't looking for a reward here on earth.

Neither was Abraham, neither was any of those mentioned in this

great passage of faith.

They were relying on the covenant promise of God that would

take them from this world and into the next, where they would truly

look upon their Savior.

And even though they did not know of Jesus Christ, they now look

upon him and know him in their fullness.

But it was by faith that they lived.

It was by faith that they followed God's standard and not the

standard of man.

And so Moses left Egypt, just like how he would lead the people

40 years later to be prepared by God.

And from this moment on, he would be a despised Hebrew like his

kin, rather than a privileged Egyptian.

And this is an important truth for us to learn.

We may not be in the same situation as Moses and have to flee

Egypt because of committing a murder, but from Egypt we must flee

because our Egypt is sin.

We can become so comfortable in following the practices and the

habits of the world that we don't even know that they're wrong.

And it's not just our actions.

The world shapes our thinking and the world shapes our attitudes

as well.

Because subtly the devil uses all that is around us to corrupt

us and pull us away from the truth.

He makes us second guess things so that we will be distracted

enough from what is God's best for us.

And as Moses fled Egypt, so we too must flee.

Flee sin.

We have the opportunity to be free from Satan's hold over us and

know the loving kindness of a Father in heaven.

And this is what Paul tells us in Galatians 5:1.

Galatians 5:1

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

Stand firm then.

And do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

And let's be honest, if you're under 50, how many of you have quoted

that word freedom as spoken by Mel Gibson in that great Scottish

movie freedom?

Isn't that what we want?

Well, it turns out Scripture tells us there's freedom in no one

else but Jesus Christ and him alone.

I wonder, do you even realize that when you're not living God's

way through Christ, then you are enslaved to the devil?

Rather than being the one who frees you, it is the devil who keeps

you away from what true life and true freedom are.

Because it is only Christ who can release you from the penalty

of sin and, and give you everlasting life.

And when he does, then you know true freedom and a great confidence

of living for him alone.

I wonder this morning, will you flee?

Will you flee from sin?

And will you turn to the truth, the truth that is presented

to us here, that it is only Jesus who can rescue us, and it is

only Jesus who can keep us.

And it will only be Jesus who will welcome us home.

That's why at the start of our service today, my prayer was that

we would make much of Jesus rather than any other, because he

is the only one who can save.

Now back to our passage.

In Exodus 2, Moses is fleeing Egypt.

And it leads him to 40 years, quite literally in the wilderness.

Something that's going to be repeated for the children of Israel

later in life.

Midian itself is a dry and desolate place.

It is a stark contrast to his former home in the royal court.

And for all his good intentions towards the Hebrews, Moses

has sinned against God.

It was not his place to kill an Egyptian.

And when the time would come for the Hebrews to leave Egypt, they

would be led by a man who was ready and equipped for the task.

And Moses almost immediately gets to demonstrate what he has learned

from this incident in Egypt.

Because as he comes into the land of Midian, he is immediately

faced with another injustice.

We're told in verses 16 and 17.

Now, a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to

draw water and fill the troughs to water their father's flock.

Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up

and came to their rescue and watered the flock.

It seems that there's a long standing conflict here between the

daughters of Midian and some local shepherds.

And it revolves around the most precious commodity in the desert,

water.

Moses steps in and helps the daughters of Midian to not only get

the water, but he also helps them in giving it to their flock.

He fills the troughs for them and this is reported back to their

father whenever they get home, because he wants to know why they're

home so early.

They're not usually home this soon.

And so he asks, well, who was this person?

And he says, they answered, an Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds.

He even drew water for us and watered the flock.

Now, Raul is taken very much by the action of a stranger and inquires

where this Egyptian is now.

And for Raul, he must show kindness to the rescuer of his daughters

and his flock.

But there's so Much more going on here.

And I'm not even talking about one of Raul's daughters given to

Moses in marriage.

What is God doing?

That must be the question that we're always asking.

What is God doing while God is establishing and settling Moses in

a foreign land so that he will be prepared and ready to return and

lead the people in Exodus?

You see, for Raul, though, this kindness is more than a meal.

Moses is given a wife and they have a son.

So Moses now settles in Midian and his time of preparation begins

for God's great rescue of his people.

Moses is truly a refugee in the land.

But God will use this time as being an alien, as Moses describes

himself, to get him ready for the great exodus that will rescue

the people of God.

But before this passage closes out, we are reminded of the plight

of God's people.

Because even though Moses is 40 years away from what's going to

happen, things in Egypt don't simply pass.

They get worse.

The Pharaoh who was Moses grandfather dies.

And it appears that the new Pharaoh takes an even harder hand

against God's people.

Because in verse 23 tells us that they cry out to God.

He hears the cry of his people to rescue them.

And in verse 24, it's confirmed to us that God heard their

groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac

and with Jacob.

Now, please don't think that this verse is telling us that God

forgot his covenant promises.

God is not able to forget those promises.

He didn't forget them.

But when the text says God remembered, well, it's telling us

that God has heard and will answer their prayer, because that's

what he always promised to do.

And action has been taken long before their cry went up, when Moses

was preserved in the royal court of Egypt, and now he is preserved

in the land of Midian, being made ready for the task that he will

undertake to answer the prayer of the people, that God will use

him to rescue them.

Now, would the people have wanted it much sooner than 40 years

that it's going to take?

Of course they would.

I imagine they wanted it done there and then.

And so we finish this passage knowing that we have the confidence

to trust in God and his timings.

You see, we are much like the people of Israel.

We cry out to God because we are in a land that is not our own,

as that great passage in Hebrews tells us.

We are looking for a better country, a heavenly one that will

be brought in when Christ will return, and so are we.

Longing for home is our cry for rescue whenever we're angry,

whenever we're angst, whenever we're unhappy, whenever we're sorrow

filled, whenever we're simply off kilter.

Do we cry to God?

Because this cry and this passage assures us that God hears

and we should have the confidence to believe that he will

answer.

Now, it may not happen in the timescale that we want because it

was 40 years in God's timing for the people to be rescued.

And so our expectations may not be much, but that does not negate

the authority, the power and the sovereignty of God.

Because God will always be the One who rescues when we cry out to

him.

Because he is the One who hears and he is the One who answers

our prayers.

He is the One who remembers his good to us.

Because that covenant promise has been sealed in the blood of Jesus.

He's not forgotten us, nor has he forgotten his promise to us, but

he assures us that he has done it all in Jesus.

And in fact, it's Jesus Himself who tells us this in John

John 16:33

16:33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have

peace.

In this world you will have trouble.

But take heart.

I have overcome the world.

So as we finish Exodus 2 this morning, as we take a break for a

couple of weeks because of the harvest and BB enrollment, we finish

with each and every one of us needing to be drawn closer to Christ.

We need to flee Egypt.

We need to flee sin.

We need to live by God's standard.

Because Jesus here at the end says, in this world you will have

trouble, but take heart.

What wonderful words from the Savior.

Take heart.

I have overcome the world.

Whether things go your way or not, Christ is ruling and Christ

is reigning, and we can come to him for rescue and salvation.

But we also need to be confident in that.

We also need to cry out to God just as the people did, knowing that

he is the God who will act.

And because of Jesus, he is the One who will lead us home.

So as I learn from this passage this morning, I need Jesus

today.

I need him to soothe my aching soul.

I need him to assure me that whatever the news brings, whatever

politics brings, whatever I like and whatever I don't like, I

have a Savior who is over every king and president, over every

government and every authority.

And he is coming back to take me home.

This world is not my home.

I love this village.

I love this building.

I love you as God's people.

But this is not the end.

My home is in heaven.

And each day I look to the Savior to get me ready to Bring me

there.

That is my only confidence.

And so I must ask you this morning, is it your confidence?

Because if you are trusting in anything other than what God's word

tells us, then your confidence is on shaky ground.

Because nothing else will deliver.

Only God through his Word, come to the Savior.

What does he tell us in this closing verse as we read it in John

16, take heart.

He has done it all.

He has overcome the world.

And so we can confidently trust in Him.

Let us pray.

Our Father God, we thank you that in this world of trouble and

toil we are called to flee the Egypt in which we live, that Egypt

of sin, sin that people see and sin that people don't see, that

sin that holds us back from you, that sin that will never save

us and never satisfy.

And so may your Word speak to us, Father.

May we know its truth and may we plant it deep within so that we

will live ever by your way and by your goodness.

So may we respond well to you this day, ever looking with great

confidence to the Savior, so that indeed we will live by faith

in Christ and in him alone.

And it's in his name we pray.

Amen.