God is Compassionate | The River 2026-27 | Lesson 3

Heat. Heat.

Hey,

look.

Oh.

Hey. Hey.

Heat. Heat.

Hey,

hey, hey.

Heat. Heat.

Good morning.

Good morning. Okay, I need all of you to

come in here for a special

announcement

this morning as we get started.

>> Where's Shandra?

>> There's Shandra.

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to

you. Happy birthday dear Shandra.

Happy birthday

to you.

We love you, Shandra. Happy birthday.

Well, let's stand as we get started with

our worship this morning. And I just

need to share a little story as we get

started this morning. Um, so this is

retreat season for me. It's like

conference season. So, I have a lot of

conferences and retreats going on on the

weekends. And

two weeks ago, I was in Canon Beach and

having a just a fantastic conference and

had a great lunch with a band and I was

just happy and kind of skipping back to

my room, skipping up the stairs, the

concrete stairs um up back up to my room

and um I fell. I just flew off my feet

and I landed on my left wrist and my

knees and they were all scabbed up and

it was I won't give you the gross

details but I still had two sessions

left to go. And so these ladies helped

me up. They were so sweet. Ladies were

on the street and they came and helped

me up and helped me to my room. They got

me ice and I was I was sitting in my

chair icing my wrist kind of feeling

sorry for myself thinking, man, I'm

getting old. This is not good. and um

and just you know lamenting like I don't

know if I can this it was all swollen

and it was so painful I didn't think I'd

broken anything but you know like if

you've fallen you know it's like um and

I was thinking how am I going to play

and so I got back to rehearsal that um

evening and the thought that came to me

as I started to play and I was able to

play but it really hurt and it wasn't

broken so I knew I wasn't damaging

anything but it really hurt and the

first thought that came to me was when

is the last time that I actually made a

sacrifice in praise to the Lord? You

know, we we do our things and we we come

sometimes we feel like singing,

sometimes we don't, you know, like uh

and I thought this this really literally

is a physical sacrifice of praise to the

Lord to do these things with pain and

and then I was thinking about the

scripture that says, "I will not offer

to the Lord that which costs me

nothing." And it usually doesn't cost us

much, does it, to worship the Lord, just

to sing the songs. It's pretty and it's

fun if we feel like it, you know. So, my

encouragement to you this morning is

let's all make a sacrifice of praise.

Not just this morning, but throughout

this time that we have to worship

together at the river because he's

worthy of our praise.

He's worthy of our praise. And so,

that's what we're going to do. So, make

a sacrifice with me. It doesn't hurt

very much anymore. So, it's not that

kind of sacrifice, but right to be here

is a sacrifice what it costs us to come.

So that in itself is a thing. But let's

lift our voices for those of you feel

like you can't sing. Just lift a joyful

noise. That's what scripture says. It

doesn't sing sing beautifully. It

doesn't say that. It says make a joyful

noise to the Lord all the earth. So

let's do that as we sing this morning.

Who breaks the power of sin and

darkness. whose love is mighty and so

much stronger. The King of glory, the

King above all kings

who shakes the whole earth with holy

thunder and leaves us breathless in awe

and wonder. The King of glory, the King

above all kings.

This is amazing grace.

This is unfailing love

that you would take my place.

That you would bear my cross.

You laid down your life

that I would be set free.

Oh Jesus, I sing for all that you've

done for me.

Who brings our chaos back into order?

Who makes the orphan a son and daughter?

The king of glory. The king of glory.

who rules the nations with truth and

justice. Shines like the sun in all of

its brilliance. The king of glory, the

king above all kings.

This is amazing grace.

This is unfailing love.

That you would take my place.

that you would bear my cross.

You laid down your life,

that I would be set free.

Oh Jesus, I sing for all that you've

done for me.

And worthy is the lamb who was slain.

Worthy is the king who conquered the

grave. Worthy is the lamb who was slain.

Worthy is the king who conquered the

grave. And worthy is the lamb who was

slain.

Worthy is the king who conered the

grave. Worthy is the lamb who was slain.

Worthy, worthy, worthy.

This is amazing grace.

This is unfailing love.

That you would take my place.

That you would bear my cross.

You laid down your life

that I would be set free.

Oh Jesus, I sing for all that you've

done for me.

This is amazing grace.

This is unfailing love

that you would take my place.

That you would bear my cross.

You laid down your life

that I would be set free.

Oh Jesus, I sing for all that you've

done for me.

How deep the Father's love for us.

How vast beyond all measure

that he should give his only son

to make a wretch his treasure.

How great the pain of searing was.

The father turns his face away.

As wounds which mar the chosen one

bring many sons to glory.

Behold the man upon the cross.

My sin upon his shoulders.

Ashamed I hear my mocking voice

call out among the scoffers.

It was my sin that held him there

until it was a complish.

His dying breath has brought me life.

I know that it is.

I will not boast in.

No gifts, no power, no wisdom,

but I will boast in Jesus Christ,

his death and resurrection.

Why should I gain from his reward?

I cannot give an answer.

But this I know with all my heart.

His wounds have paid my ransom.

Why should I gain from his reward?

I cannot give an answer,

but this I know with all my heart.

His wounds have paid my ransom.

But this I know with all my heart.

His wills have paid my ransom.

What he's done.

All the glory and the honor to the son.

My sins are forgi.

My future is heaven.

I praise God

for what he's done.

See, on the hill of Calary,

my Savior bled for me. My Jesus set me

free.

And look at the wounds that give me

life. Grace flowing from his side. No

greater sacriice

what he's done.

What he's done.

All the glory and the honor to the son.

My sins are forgiven.

My future is heaven.

I praise God

for what he's done.

So sing for the freedom he has won. Even

death is dead and done. His life has

overcome.

Speak. Say the name above all names.

Over every broken place. He has risen

from the grave.

What he's done.

All the glory and the honor to the son.

My sins are forgi.

My future is heaven.

I praise God

for what he's done.

And now on a throne of majesty,

the father's will complete.

He reigns in victory.

So sing hallelujah to the king. He is

worthy to receive

all the worship we can bring. Let's sing

it out. what he's done.

What he's done.

All the glory and the honor to the son.

My sins are forgi.

My future is heaven.

I praise God

for what he's done.

I praise God

for what he's done.

I praise God

for what he's done.

We're so grateful this morning as we

sing these songs, Lord. We sing

hallelujah.

We praise your name because you're so

good. what you've done. There are no

words to express

our hearts when we think about the

sacrifice that you made for us. So, what

a joy to bring our sacrifice of praise

to you this morning. We love you and

once again, we look to your word. We

lean into you and we ask you to speak to

our hearts from your word with truth

that we need and that changes us. And we

thank you for that. We're so grateful in

Jesus name. Amen.

>> Thank you.

Well, good morning.

So good to be together. So good to

worship together. Thank you, Lisa, for

leading us just in a very particular way

this morning. And of course, um, we're

so happy to celebrate our dear Shandra

today on her actual birthday. Um, so

good to be with you. Hey, I have a

question for you. Have you ever needed

to be rescued from a bad situation?

Raise your hand if you've ever needed to

be rescued from a bad situation. Yeah,

that's the question you had in your

lesson today. Ever pray for someone to

come along and deliver you out of a

place where you felt trapped?

This weekend I was away at a pastor

elder retreat in Blackb and I got a

phone call, an emergency phone call from

my husband while I was there. Our home

elevator had fallen three floors with my

husband trapped inside. With my husband,

sorry, my son trapped inside.

Um, we have a three-story house. Um,

it's wheelchair accessible ADA. The

elevator is a huge part of mobilizing um

my my son and sometimes my mom. And I I

know that sounds dramatic, but that is

actually exactly what happened. Um, but

thankfully there was a secondary safety

cable that slowed the descent of the

elevator, so Adam wasn't hurt. But he

landed in the elevator pit, which is

several feet below the ground floor, and

he had to be rescued out of that uh

elevator car uh with some ramps. And

then he needed to be delivered back up

to the third floor where that's where

everything he needs is located. It's

where his his ADA bed, his his hoyer

lift, his breathing equipment, his

computer, um his ADA bathroom is up all

on the third floor. So being on the

first floor is useless because there's

nothing on the first floor that's

accessible to him. And so we and also on

the first floor, the only way out of the

first floor is through stairs. And it's

pretty hard to mobilize a 400 pound

wheelchair up flights of stairs. So I'm

very grateful for a man named Dustin. Um

he was our elevator repair man who came

on a Saturday and it took him several

hours um to mobilize manually to get

that elevator back up to the third

floor. But now, even though Adam's back

in his bedroom, he's trapped on the

third floor because the elevator is

toast and the company's out of business

and there are no replacement parts

available. So, he may be trapped there

for a long time uh while we wait for the

elevator to be um maybe temporary

repaired. I don't know if parts can be

found or completely replaced, which is

at least a three-month ordeal.

So rescue situations are some of the

most dramatic moments of our lives and

we see this in Moses's life as well.

Last week we we watched Pharaoh become

increasingly determined to stop the

growth of God's people and he burdened

them with this hard labor. He ordered

their midwives to kill their newborn

boy, baby boys. And then he ordered all

the Hebrew boys to be thrown into the

Nile, which by the way was full of

crocodiles.

But surprisingly, Pharaoh said that the

girls could live. He saw the boys as a

potential threat to his power, but it

was the girls and the women who were the

ones who actually repeatedly stood in

the way of Pharaoh's plans. And so when

we think about the deliverance of

Israel, you know, our minds often go,

"Oh, Moses was the deliverer of Israel."

And that's true. But first, before Moses

was able to get anyone out of is Egypt,

he first had to be delivered from a

river. He had to be delivered before he

was able to become the deliverer. And as

I was studying this passage this week, I

was so struck by the courage and

compassion of the women who were

instruments of rescue and deliverance in

Moses's life. There was a mother, a

sister, a servant, a princess. They all

faced a very important decision about

what they were going to do with this

vulnerable child. And each of them had

very different circumstances. But each

of them used the influence that they had

in that moment to protect that boy. And

their actions help us to understand more

about our compassionate God who is going

to deliver his people. So as we walk

through Exodus 2 today, we're going to

discover that God knows the suffering of

his people and he understands what

they're going through even while they're

waiting for rescue. And what I hope we

can learn today is that God sees his

people's suffering and his compassion

moves him to act. We're going to look at

this chapter in three parts. First,

we're going to see how God preserves a

life through courageous women. That will

be in the first 10 verses of Exodus 2.

Then, we're going to see how God

prepares a deliverer, Moses, through

very difficult circumstances. That will

be in verses 11- 22. And then lastly,

we're going to see how God responds to

his people with covenant faithfulness.

And we'll see that in verses 23 to 25.

So let's begin with the mother who's

just given birth to a son.

The chapter opens by telling us that the

baby's parents belong to the tribe of

Levi.

Later, scripture identifies his the

father is Amaran and the mother as

Jockabed. But when we meet them here at

the beginning of Exodus 2, they aren't

named. We have no names for them. In

fact, we don't have names for the sister

or the princess or the servant.

Everybody is unnamed. And yet, even

though even even the baby isn't named

till the end of this scene, which is

actually striking. I think that should

first of all cause us to pause because

remember when we opened the book of

Exodus, the first thing we got was this

list of names. In fact, Exodus is like

the book of names. So, why do we have

such a a critical moment in history

where no one is named? And yet, these

women have an essential place in

Israel's history before the narrator

even tells us who they are. And imagine

what it must have been like for Jockabed

to give birth. Typically, giving birth

to a baby boy was a cause for great

celebration. I mean, boys were highly

valued because they carried the family

name. But here she gives birth to a boy

and all she could probably think about

was what Pharaoh's decree had been.

What would it have looked like for her

to welcome this newborn son knowing that

the king had demanded his death? How how

could she ever possibly protect him?

Where could she keep him safe? What

would that decision have felt like

knowing that she also has two other

children to protect and knowing that if

she defied the king's orders, she would

be putting her whole family at risk? But

verse two tells us that when she saw

that he was a fine child, she hid him

for three months.

And yes, he was beautiful looking, but

that word fine conotes good. She looked

at him and saw that he was good. And

interestingly, that language

takes us back to Genesis, right? Where

God saw all that he had made and he said

that it was good. And so using that

language connects us connect helps us

understand something about Jockabed. She

sees goodness in this child whose life

Pharaoh wants to destroy.

God's purposes for human life is

flourishing and multiplying. And

Jockabed's actions are actually aligning

with God's purposes to preserve this

child's life even in the face of

Pharaoh's opposition.

Hebrews 11:23 tells us that Moses was

Hebrews 11:23

hidden by his parents through faith.

It says, "By faith, Moses when he was

born was hidden for three months by his

parents because they saw that the child

was beautiful and they were not afraid

of the king's edict."

So, interestingly, in in Exodus, we

don't hear much about parents. We hear

about the mother. But clarification

comes in Hebrews that both parents were

involved in this faithful response to

hide the baby. They know the king's

command and yet they choose to protect

their son. And think about what that

would have meant just for their ordinary

home life. Every time the bo the baby

needed feeding or needed to be

comforted, they had to do that while

keeping him hidden. Think about every

time the baby cried. The baby would have

no idea what kind of danger was posed

every time he cried.

And we can't we can can hardly imagine

how careful they would have had to been

bent they would have had to be to keep

him quiet but also how much courage it

would have required in those early

months of having him just to to trust

that somehow God had a purpose for his

life not knowing what would be coming

next

actually made me think about our lives

in many ways because they had to live

out their faith in practical terms not

knowing what was going to happen. They

were just living day by day choosing to

trust God and believe in a really hard

space. And I think about us, we also

have to do that. We have to choose every

day to believe and to trust and to move

forward. We don't know what's coming.

And we can pray for protection and we

still have to take into consideration

how do we stay safe and stay prepared

for things that might happen in our

lives. or we have situations that

require that we trust God when we have

many difficult decisions still to make.

So, we see these parents, they're just

continuing to care for their child and

they don't know how they're going to

keep him safe as he grows. They didn't

have a fully developed plan for how to

navigate this kind of situation. So,

their faith becomes so evident in the

ways that they go through their daily

responsibilities caring for this child.

They're just trusting God to show them

the way forward in the places where they

couldn't see what was coming.

And I kind of think that's kind of how

it is for all of us as parents. You

know, I think when we all have a child,

we and we don't know what the future of

our child is going to hold. We just are

trying to discern in each moment what is

what is the right thing to do in each

circumstance. And we trust in God's

wisdom and his guidance and his grace. I

think somewhat being a parent is almost

like being blind. We we don't know like

we have this we're entrusted with this

life and we spend our lives trying to

know this person that's been entrusted

to us and trying to keep them safe and

trying to help them grow and try to

navigate life in a broken world, but we

don't even know what kind of things

they're going to face. So, we don't know

what's around the corner. We're

constantly just having to depend on the

Lord's wisdom and guidance to show us

each step along the way and try to be

faithful with what we know. So

eventually Jockabed gets to the place

where she can't hide him any longer and

she makes a basket out of papyrus and

she coats it with bumen and pit pitch to

keep the water out and then she places

him in the reeds by the riverbank which

again is infested with crocodiles.

So, can you picture her making this

basket and just thinking about putting

her baby inside? She has reached the

limits of what she can do to keep him at

home, but she continues to do what she

thinks she can do best just by trying to

preserve his life.

And the basket, you can put that picture

back up again. The basket reminds us of

another instrument of rescue in the

Bible. The Hebrew word that's used for

this basket is the same word that's used

for Noah's ark. These are the only two

times in the whole Bible that this word

is used. Noah's ark and this basket is

is a type of ark. And so here Jockabed,

this one is not made of papyrus, but

it's the closest thing that is still

surviving that you can see what it would

look like, an Egyptian basket, but you

can see that that she makes this little

arc for her son. We're, I think,

supposed to think about Noah and his

household. And we're supposed to think

of how Noah was carried through the

deadly waters with his family safe

inside. And we're supposed to wonder,

will this basket be a protector as this

baby goes down the river, a river that

Pharaoh has designated as a place of

death. And there's no guarantee when she

puts the baby in the basket that he's

actually going to be safe.

But there's this pattern here from

Genesis that gives this family hope for

another type of rescue to occur in

another dangerous body of water. And

those reads that line the riverbank,

they are also symbolic because they help

us look ahead to the time when Israel

will be rescued and they will have to

navigate the dangerous waters of the Sea

of Reeds. We call it the Red Sea, but

the name of the Red Sea is actually sea

of reeds. So, ironically, before Moses

can lead his people through the waters,

he himself has to be rescued from the

waters.

And notice here how Pharaoh's command is

being overturned by this unassuming

group of women. He orders the boys to be

thrown into the Nile. And technically

Jacobed is obeying by placing her son

into the Nile. Though she's putting him

in a vessel that she hopes will keep him

alive. And now this river that was

intended to be the place where a baby is

destroyed. It actually becomes the place

where a baby is preserved.

And of course nearby is Moses's sister.

Um she's watching to see what will

happen. She's a little bit older and she

sees Pharaoh's daughter come down to

bathe at the river and she sees the

basket and she sends her servant to

retrieve it. And when she opens it, she

finds a baby crying. And we have to just

pause here for a moment because think

about this. This is the daughter of the

man who ordered that these children be

killed. So we think, "Oh no, what will

she do when she opens this basket and

sees it's a Hebrew baby?" But verse six

tells us that she felt pity. She

actually knows that it's a Hebrew baby

and she responds to the distress of this

child by feeling compassion.

Her father has issued a command to kill

the boys and yet his daughter is

choosing to preserve his life.

It's so amazing how God will use someone

from Pharaoh's own family to help

preserve Israel's future deliverer. Only

God.

And I also want you to notice there's

this thread that runs through this

chapter. People are seeing and they're

responding. They're seeing and they're

responding. We see that Jockabed sees

her child's goodness and she responds by

hiding him away. The princess sees the

baby's distress and she responds in

compassion by taking him out of the

water. And at the end of the chapter,

we'll see that God sees his people

suffering and he responds by coming near

for to rescue. But the actions of these

women show us what it looks like to

notice someone who is vulnerable and

respond with care. To see and to step

in, to see and to step in. And then when

Miriam steps forward,

she asks whether she should call a

Hebrew woman to nurse this crying baby.

Do can you think about the courage that

it would have taken? We think perhaps

Miriam was about six years old. So

imagine the courage it would have taken

her to approach this princess.

She's been watching. She recognizes an

opportunity to do something courageous.

And her question is very practical. It's

very welltimed. She doesn't give any

details about her family. She just

offers to see if she can find someone to

help care for this baby. And the

princess tells her to go. And this is

also really interesting because later on

Pharaoh will uh Moses will confront

Pharaoh by saying let my people go and

Pharaoh will say no. But here Miriam

asks shall I go? And the princess says

go. So this echoing of the princess

going against her father's wishes by

sending Miriam to go get someone to

nurse this baby. And in verse 9, she

says to the to Miriam, "Take this child

away and nurse him for me." She says to

to the mother, Jockabed, "and I will

give you wages."

I mean, can you imagine, oh my goodness,

hearing those words? If you are this

baby's mother, this son that she could

no longer keep safe is being returned to

her care with the princess's

authorization and she's going to get

paid for nursing her own baby again.

Only God.

And there's this beautiful connection

here too with Miriam's story because

we first meet Miriam right here by the

banks of the Nile River as she's

watching her brother be delivered into

the hands of the princess. And later in

Exodus 15, we're going to see her again

where she's leading worship after the

people, God's people, have been

delivered through the Sea of Reeds. And

so, we're getting insight into this

girl's courage. Miriam is courageous and

she's a leader long before she actually

leads the people of Israel into worship.

So we have Jockabed here. She's caring

for her son until he grows older, which

is giving her an amazing opportunity to

tell him about who he is, about the

family stories, about Yahweh, their God.

She's able to talk to him about who who

he is as a part of their family. And

then when the time comes, she brings him

to Pharaoh's daughter and he becomes her

son.

Can you imagine how hard that would have

been to take this boy that you love so

much and to to entrust him to this

household, this Egyptian household that

is radically different from everything

that you've poured into him at that

point?

I mean, I always thought it would be

very courageous of me to raise a dog for

the blind, but I know I love those

puppies so much, I could never let it

go. And that's a puppy. Can you imagine

what it's like for her to give her son

to Pharaoh's household? And then the

princess names him Moses. And it just

I'm so curious, what did his mother call

him? We don't know. But the princess

names him Moses because she said she

drew him out of the water. And this is

also a Hebrew word play because the name

Moses suggests one who draws out. And

this is actually foreshadowing his role

as the deliverer who will draw Israel

out of Egypt.

But also what's so interesting is that

in in the Egyptian language, the word

Moses means the means son of dot dot dot

son of

son of who? It doesn't say. It just

means son of.

And this is so interesting because this

is actually a question that's going to

follow Moses through the rest of his

life. Whose son is Moses? Where does he

belong? He has a Hebrew family of

origin. He has an Egyptian upbringing.

And as we go further into his story,

we're going to see this tension that he

constantly is facing about his identity.

And he's constantly at wrestling with

who is he.

But before we move past too far past

these women, I want you to think about

how uniquely positioned they were right

where they were planted. Jockabed could

not change Pharaoh's decree, but she

could prepare a basket. Miriam could not

make that princess pick that basket up

out of the water, but she could watch

and she could speak up at the right

moment. And so these two women along

with the midwives, they resisted

injustice within their sphere of

influence and they repeatedly defied and

defeated Pharaoh's purposes.

And the truth is this. God works through

acts of faith and compassion within our

sphere of influence.

God works through us through acts of

faith and compassion right where we are,

right within our sphere of influence.

Often I think we see like a big need or

we see a big problem and we are so

overwhelmed by it that we just think,

well, I can't do anything to change. I

I'm I'm powerless.

But sometimes we just need to think

about what we could do. What could we do

with that person who's right in front of

us? What what practical help could we

provide? What could we do to advocate

for a need or for a person? Um what what

could we do to stand up for someone

who's being mistreated? Our influence

might be our influence each one of us

might be very different than someone

else's,

but it's still a way that we can help if

we step into it faithfully.

And I want to ask you to think about who

has God placed within your reach who

needs care or protection.

Maybe it's someone in the school where

your kids go or a child, a friend of

your of your child that needs that kind

of support or someone to advocate for

them. Maybe it's someone in our church

community that has a need that you can

meet. Maybe it's a neighbor or someone

in your workplace.

Is there an action that you have

actually been hesitant to take because

actually it feels too small? You feel

like what good is that going to do? Or

maybe it just requires too much courage.

These women could not see the future,

but they responded faithfully to what

was right in front of them within their

sphere of influence. They acted and God

used them in a mighty way.

Let's go on and talk about how God

prepares a deliverer through difficult

circumstances.

It's too bad actually. I think that

Exodus moves so quickly from Moses's

childhood to his adult life because

there's so much more I want to know. I

want more details. But when we go to

Acts 7, uh we are told that he is 40

years old when he goes out of the

palace, I'm assuming, out into the

street and he sees his people. And we

also are told that at this point in his

life, he has been educated in the wisdom

of the Egyptians.

So this boy who needed protection has

grown into a man. He has all the

advantages of growing up in Pharaoh's

household. But yet when he looks at the

Hebrews according to this author, he

identifies these are his people. um

twice in verse 11 he says he calls them

his people and he sees them as his

people and he sees their burdens.

In reality Moses has like a hybrid

identity. He belongs by birth to the

people who have been enslaved but he has

grown up in the household of the people

who have oppressed them. So think about

all the questions he has running through

his mind about who he is and where he

belongs. He's experienced life among the

Egyptians, but then he identifies with

the Hebrews and he moves toward them

when he sees them suffering. In fact,

when he sees an Egyptian beating a

Hebrew, Moses, we see, looks around. So,

obviously, he's cognizant that what he's

going to do is not good. He kills the

Egyptian and then he hides his body in

the sand. And then the next day, he sees

two Hebrews who are fighting and he

challenges the one who's striking the

other. And then verse 14 tells us that

they question him. They're like, "Who

made you a prince and a judge over us?"

And then the man asks Moses, "What? You

intend to kill us too like you killed

the Egyptian?"

And then again, if we look at Acts 7, it

kind of helps us understand what Moses

was thinking because we don't get that

from the Exodus account. But Acts 7

tells us that he actually thought that

his people, the Hebrews, would recognize

that God was giving them deliverance

through him.

Somehow God has revealed to him the call

on his life that we don't even

understand. But he saw himself even at

this time as a deliverer and he

recognizes that his own people don't see

him that way. His desire then to

intervene did not bring trust. It did

not bring freedom and in fact when

Pharaoh heard what he had done he seeks

to kill Moses. So now for the second

time in Moses's life, Pharaoh has

threatened him. And this time Moses

leaves Egypt as a fugitive.

But it's interesting that that Moses's

intervention in both of these disputes

reveals that he is compassionate.

He's compassionate like the women who

rescued him earlier in his life. He's

clearly concerned about injustice.

But he has so much to learn about

leading God's people. His education and

his position have not prepared him for

everything that he is going to need to

deliver them out of Egypt.

Instead of helping the people that he

was truly seeking to help, he hurt their

situation by not doing it in the right

way. He was so eager to jump in probably

very impulsively and try to solve a

problem that he didn't consider why had

the conflict occurred in the first place

and what was the long-term solution. So

he needed wisdom and he needed maturity.

He needed to to have an opportunity to

to be with God before he would be ready

to help in the right way.

I was thinking about before I went to

Africa um for my first trip, I was

required in 2014, our team was required

to read this book called When Helping

Hurts. It's a it's an excellent handbook

for short-term missionaries. Um so that

when we go to other cultures, we don't

step in with our American money and our

American ideals into a culture that we

don't understand. And so the author I

I'll never forget this. The author

shared this example of a person who had

visited a third uh world country and

realized that a very small amount of

money could buy a really nice house for

the family that he was sponsoring. And

he did that. I think it was like $500 to

get this grand house for this family

that he was sponsoring. But what he

didn't consider was how the rest of the

community would treat that family when

their fancy house didn't align with

their community status. So in the end,

the family experienced more suffering in

the way they were ostracized by their

community from their community than they

would have suffered living in a smaller

house.

And I still think about that book often

when I consider how to help someone

who's in need even if I have the

resources to meet that need because I I

want to understand what actually would

genuinely help that person rather than

assume that that giving resources is the

best response. So we need wisdom in

these situations to know how we can

truly help and not hurt a situation.

Moses wanted to intervene, but his

actions did not bring the deliverance

that he was expecting. And instead, he

finds himself rejected and fleeing for

his life. His concern was real, but he

still needed God's wisdom and direction.

And then think about what Moses was

facing. He had lost his place in

Pharaoh's household. The people he tried

to help challenged his authority. And

so, he had to flee the country for

safety. I think what we yesterday in

leaders we said was like 300 miles he

had to go away to find safety.

And so interestingly we find that he

arrives in Midian and he he's by a well

and we aren't given his thoughts. We

don't know what's going through his mind

but I kind of wonder if he's not just

thinking how did I get here like how did

my life get so far off track?

And then he's at this well and he sees

another injustice that moves him to

compassion because the seven daughters

of the priest of Midian come to draw

water for their father's flock. And the

shepherds, I'm guessing they're male

shepherds,

uh, chase them away, drive them away.

And so Moses steps in in verse 17. He he

it says he saved them and watered their

flock. I love that second detail. He not

only saved them but he actually got to

work to serve them. He protects them and

finishes the work they came to do. So

here we see the child who was rescued

through the actions of women now comes

to the aid of women and he cares for

them in a very very practical way.

Of course the fathers get home to their

the daughters get home to their father

and they're early. So the father's like

way how did you get here so fast? And in

verse 19, they say, 'Well, an Egyptian

delivered us out of the hand of the

shepherds.

So, they look at Moses and they see an

Egyptian.

But we've just heard that he identifies

as a Hebrew.

So, we understand Moses's identity is

still very complicated. He's Hebrew by

birth, but he has an Egyptian

upbringing. And now he's going to spend

a lot of years in Midian. All of these

things are being woven together in the

fabric of his identity.

The father welcomes them. Moses agrees

to stay. Eventually, he marries Zapora,

one of the daughters who is at the well.

So, our minds are supposed to be

thinking, "Oh, yeah. There's this

pattern in Genesis where people go to a

well and they meet their spouse and they

get married and they have families."

Like, we've seen this before all through

Genesis. It's happening again.

And then Moses names their son Gerson

and he explains, "I've been a sojourer

in a foreign land." So yeah, he's found

a home, but he still describes himself

as a foreigner.

And I think probably some of you can

understand what that feels like. Maybe

like you're grateful to be where you

are, but you still don't really feel at

home. We can be grateful for the people

around us, but still grieve what we've

left behind.

We can see God's provision in a new

season. Still wonder how did we get

here?

Moses had a family and had work in

Midian, but the questions about his

future were very unclear.

And then Acts tells us that 40 years

passed before God met him at the burning

bush.

Those are a lot of years living a very

ordinary, mundane life day after day. I

think it's so interesting though also

that not only is he living as a

shepherd,

but he's learning how to shepherd. So,

we know like he's learning how to

shepherd because he's going to shepherd

the people of Israel out of Egypt, but

he's also learning the work that for

centuries his people did. They

shepherded. So there's this this

interesting time of training and

identification that God is using in his

life during these 40 years in Midian.

He's learning. He's working. His failure

and his flight have not brought Moses's

story to an end.

In fact, in the next chapter, which

we'll get to next week, we're going to

see that God speaks so profoundly into

Moses's identity. It's going to happen

at the burning bush when God calls Moses

by his name. And then he tells them, "I

am the God of your father, the God of

Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of

Jacob." He's going to speak into Moses

what his identity is. And God's going to

place Moses within his covenant

promises. The man whose belonging has

seemed so uncertain will be personally

addressed by God and then personally

sent by God to do God's work.

And the truth is that God can use

difficult seasons to form us for his

purposes.

In fact, I would propose to say

the most formation I've ever experienced

has been in the hard places.

It's been the hardest places of my life

where I have felt most formed by God for

his purposes.

Moses's life has taken a turn he never

expected. I'm sure that he now that he's

gone from Pharaoh's household and he's

in this foreign land,

the last thing on his mind is like, how

am I going to free the people who are

enslaved?

He names his son a name that portrays

his understanding that he still doesn't

feel like he is where he's supposed to

be. He's in a foreign place, but we know

his story is going to continue. God will

meet him in Midian. God will call him to

a work in Midian. And these are all

things that Moses never could have

accomplished on his own.

But have you you ever had a season in

your life where you just wondered how

your life ended up so differently than

you expected? How did you get here? I

thought my life would be like this and

how am I like this? And maybe that's a

good thing and maybe that's not a good

thing. Maybe you thought you were headed

in one direction but then there was a

loss or a disappointment or a change in

circumstances that completely redirected

your path.

Or maybe you found yourself

asking,"Lord, I don't know what to do in

this situation. What do I do now?" And

those are really hard questions,

especially when answers don't come

quickly. I mean, think about Moses. He

probably asked those questions multiple

times, and for 40 years, nothing

changed.

But I think Moses's story encourages us

to just bring those questions to God

without making a decision for ourselves

that somehow we're in a place that has

put us beyond God's purposes. Because

Moses needed to be 40 years in Midian to

get ready to do the thing that God was

calling him to do. And maybe for you and

I, we have to spend time in a place of

preparation before we'll be ready to do

the next thing that God is asking us to

do. So, I think Moses's story encourages

us to bring our questions to God and to

pray, "Lord, help me remain open to you.

Show me what I need to learn and help me

trust you with the things I cannot yet

understand.

And maybe for you too, there's an

expectation about your life that you

haven't been able to release that you're

holding on to.

And it could be related to marriage or

to how many children you would have had

or what your career might have been or

what you expected your health to be

like. And how might holding that

expectation before God make room for you

to receive what he has for you? What his

direction for you is? Because we we may

not be able to see what's coming next,

but we can ask God to help us trust him

in the place that we're in while we

wait.

Well, lastly, we're going to see how God

responds to his people with covenant

faithfulness.

We learn in verse 23 that the king of

Egypt dies. Yay. We're so happy about

that. But the people continue to groan

in their slavery. They don't become

free. We would have thought maybe that a

change of leadership meant a change of

circumstances for the Israelites. But

their burdens remain and their cry for

rescue comes to God. Chapters 24 and 25

actually bring us to the very moment

that this whole chapter has been

leading.

It says, ' And God heard their groaning

and remembered his covenant with

Abraham, Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw

the people of Israel, and God knew.

Think about what those words reveal

about God's compassion.

God heard their groaning. Up until this

point, the loudest voice we've heard is

Pharaoh's. Pharaoh has carried enormous

power so far in Exodus 2. When he

speaks, people suffer. His commands

dictate the kinds of hard labor and

burdens the people will suffer as well

as the the perilous nature of his

commands on their children. But now we

hear about how their cries, the cries of

the people who have suffered are

reaching the ears of God.

And God remembered his covenant. When we

say we remembered something, it usually

means, "Oh, I remembered something I

forgot.

God never forgets. When it says that he

remembered, it means that he's bringing

his promises into the foreground as he

is preparing to act. The rescue ahead

will be an expression of his

faithfulness to the covenant he made

with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The

Israelites who are in Egypt, they belong

to that covenant promise. And so, what

Pharaoh sees is a population that he

needs to control. But what God sees is a

people that are bound to him by his

promise.

And God saw his people. God sees his

people, Israel.

In the same way that Jockabed saw her

child's goodness and the princess saw

the baby's distress and Moses saw the

burdens of the people,

the care of these women in particular to

help this vulnerable child help us

understand God's compassion for his

suffering people.

In the next chapter, God is going to

tell Moses that he has seen the

affliction of his people, that he has

heard their cry, that he knows their

suffering, that their pain has never

been hidden from him. And the people

Pharaoh has treated as just hard labor

and a threat are seen by God in their

time of need. And then God knows, he

knows his people. They are fully known

to him before their rescue begins.

In Psalm 103,

um, it connects God's compassion with

his knowledge. Psalm 103:13 says, "As a

Psalms 103:13

father shows compassion to his children,

so the Lord shows compassion to those

who fear him. For he knows our frame. He

remembers that we are dust."

God knows our frailty. He knows our

limits. He knows and he invites us to

bring him the needs that we are

carrying. and to ask for his help.

So the truth is that God hears, he

remembers, he sees, and he knows his

people, and that includes you and me in

our suffering.

I think it's so reassuring,

but it's also hard when our suffering

doesn't ease or when there seems to be

no end in sight.

So, it's always good for us to remember,

okay, well, Moses's story isn't finished

yet, and our story is not finished yet

either.

In fact, when Exodus 2 ends, Israel's

still enslaved and Moses is still in

Midian. And we don't know what it was

like for them through those years of

waiting, but we know that God heard

them. He remembered his covenant. He saw

them. He knew what they were dealing

with. So, when you think about your

greatest need today, when you think

about, you know, what is your greatest

need today? Will you think about what do

you need most? What assurance do you

need most? that God hears your cries,

your prayers, that he remembers his

promises to you, that he sees you in all

the things that no one else sees, that

he knows your heart, he knows what

you're carrying. Whatever that is, I

want to encourage you to bring that to

him in prayer. And perhaps ask your

group members to pray with you this week

that you will experience

the closeness and the intimacy of God,

knowing that he sees, he remembers, he

hears, and he knows. When I think about

what happened to my son Adam this

weekend, I'm Yes. I'm so grateful that

he wasn't hurt. And I'm so grateful that

Dustin came to help us on Saturday, at

least get him back to his room. Adam

needed someone who had knowledge that

only Dustin had. I had no ability to do

what Dustin could do. He used his sphere

of influence to help us, and I'm so

grateful.

But

Adam still needs deliverance out of his

situation so that he can safely leave

the house and continue to live his life.

He was rescued, but he needs

deliverance.

Exodus 2 ends with God's people. They're

waiting for deliverance. And even even

though they know that God sees them and

knows them, they're still waiting.

there. But their rescue plan has been

set into motion, though they can't see

it yet because there's there was a baby

who was rescued, who's become a man who

is full of compassion and sees the

injustices of life, and they can't see

yet what's coming. But God already has a

plan that he's set in motion.

And for us, we look to Jesus, right? And

we see how deeply God has committed

himself to our rescue. Jesus is our

deliverer. Through his death and

resurrection, we have been set free from

sin and death. We have been given life

in Christ. We have the Holy Spirit, our

constant companion.

It's his love that helps us carry the

burdens that we carry today.

So my question is this, what would you

like to honestly bring before the Lord

today? What would you like to bring

before our God who to this very day

hears our cries, remembers his great

love for us through Christ, sees our

needs, and knows the deepest desires of

our hearts. Let's pray.

Father, we worship you.

You are the God who saves, who delivers,

who rescues. Thank you for each one of

us who's been rescued from a life of

darkness and sin into a life of light

and fullness and grace and wisdom and

truth. Thank you, Lord, for what you've

done. A plan that was probably in motion

long before we said we believe and

receive you as our savior. You have been

so good to us and in all the ways even

today where we struggle to think that

you really do see and care the situ

about the situations we're in, we

believe

because we have this testimony in

scripture that you're at work behind the

scenes long before we see what our

rescue will actually look like. So help

us to trust you and help us to trust

each other with the things that are on

our hearts today that we want support in

prayer. We love you Lord and it's in

your name we pray. Amen.

All right, enjoy your time in your

groups.