Intro: Chapter 4 wrap up.

A. God’s conversation with Moses in Exodus 4.

The Lord has already set out his plans for the Israelites’ future settlement in the land of Canaan.

Moses is issued instructions. Attention now switches to Moses and his reluctance to accept God’s commission.

Last week Ryan taught us how God addresses the two reasons put forward by Moses for not returning to Egypt. The first of these concerns the issue of persuading the Israelites.

• God provides Moses with three supernatural signs, which Moses is to perform before the Israelites. Staff to snake, leprosy hand, and water into blood.

Moses’s second objection concerns his inability to speak fluently.

• God reassures Moses that he will equip him with the ability to speak, but Moses remains stubbornly reluctant to obey.
• As a final concession, God promises Moses the assistance of his brother, Aaron.

B. Moses and his acceptance by the Israelites are separated by a number of short paragraphs in chapter 4.

(1) the support of his Midianite relatives (vv. 18–20),

Then Moses went back to his father-in-law, Jethro, and said to him, “Please let me return to my relatives in Egypt and see if they are still living.” Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” —Exodus4:18

(2) information about Pharaoh’s reluctance to release the Israelites (vv. 21–23)

The Lord instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, make sure you do before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he won’t let the people go. —Exodus4:21

(3) an incident involving circumcision (vv. 24–26), and

On the trip, at an overnight campsite, it happened that the Lord confronted him and intended to put him to death. —Exodus4:24

This section of Scriptures baffles most commentators.

• It probably describes how Zipporah circumcises Gershom and prevents Moses from being killed by God.
• Moses’s failure to circumcise his son excludes Gershom from the covenant that God initiated with Abraham (Gen. 17), the very covenant that underpins the divine deliverance of the Israelites from slavery (Exod. 2:24; 6:4–5).
• Even though Moses finally accepted his mission. He was not relieved of his regular responsibilities as a Hebrew. There were some things he had to get right beforehand. The circumcision of his son was way overdue and had to be taken care of before the mission started.

(4) Moses’s reunion with Aaron (vv. 27–28).

Now the Lord had said to Aaron, “Go and meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and about all the signs he had commanded him to do. —Exodus4:27

Moses and Aaron are reunited at Mount Sinai, “the mountain of God.” Once more attention is drawn to the significance of this location.

The brevity of these episodes possibly indicates that Moses did not delay in obeying God’s call.

Alternatively, they are deliberately kept brief so as not to distract from the main story line.

B. Early success

Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites. 30 Aaron repeated everything the Lord had said to Moses and performed the signs before the people. 31 The people believed, and when they heard that the Lord had paid attention to them and that he had seen their misery, they knelt low and worshiped. —Exodus 4:29-31

When Moses and Aaron go to the people they believe and worshiped the God who heard their prayers.

So far, so good…

Summary of Chapter 4:
In spite of all that God says, Moses remained fearful that the Israelites will not believe him. In response the Lord gives him three signs designed to convince the people that God has sent him. Signs like these are rarely used by God to persuade people directly. A survey of the Bible reveals that God only rarely uses signs and wonders to persuade people to believe in him. Since this is not a regular occurrence, those occasions when God intervenes in a supernatural way stand out as special. In this instance, they are meant to authenticate Moses and his message. It worked! The Israelites see the signs and believe. One quick note. Even given the name of God and the power of God didn’t mean Moses was advanced past his normal responsibilities like the circumcision of his sons.

I. Overcoming Obstacles on God’s Road to Freedom

A. God calls and then opposition.

Many times, when we feel God telling us to do something for him. Help your neighbor, teach a class or go on the mission trip with the youth. We think the battle is in the decision. That is just the beginning.

Due to the presence of evil in the world, there is always opposition to God and his plans. Rejection and persecution often lead to discouragement among those serving God.

We need to prepare for opposition.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. —Ephesians 6:12

Paul teaches us in Ephesians that all of Christian life is opposed and we need to prepare with the armor of God.

B. Moses and Aaron encounter opposition.

Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh to request that the Israelites be permitted to sacrifice to the Lord in the wilderness.

Later, Moses and Aaron went in and said to Pharaoh, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival for me in the wilderness.” 2 But Pharaoh responded, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him by letting Israel go? I don’t know[a] the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.” 3 They answered, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, or else he may strike us with plague or sword.” —Exodus 5:1-3

Is Moses trying to be deceitful? I think the 3 day trip is not a deceptive tactic. I think God is giving Pharoah a chance to do the right thing.

God told Moses that he would harden his heart. God told Moses the end result of God working with Pharoah. God knows the future. Here he is not hardening his heart but giving him a “choice” to do the right thing. God knows where his choices are going to lead him. His first choice is not to just say no but make it harder on the Israelites.

That day Pharaoh commanded the overseers of the people as well as their foremen, 7 “Don’t continue to supply the people with straw for making bricks, as before. They must go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But require the same quota of bricks from them as they were making before; do not reduce it. For they are slackers—that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Impose heavier work on the men. Then they will be occupied with it and not pay attention to deceptive words.” —Exodus 5:6-9

Pharaoh’s reaction is not what they expected. Accusing the Israelites of being lazy, he adds to their suffering by demanding that they gather stubble in order to make bricks of clay.

Moses and Aaron wrestle with God’s call. They do the hard things, like circumcision a grown man, to get ready. Step out in obedience and everything gets worse!

II. Blaming God for opposition.

The Israelite foremen saw that they were in trouble when they were told, “You cannot reduce your daily quota of bricks.” 20 When they left Pharaoh, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who stood waiting to meet them. 21 “May the Lord take note of you and judge,” they said to them, “because you have made us reek to Pharaoh and his officials—putting a sword in their hand to kill us!” —Exodus 5:19-23

A. When we encounter hardships when trying to obey God in our lives we are always surprised.

We teach that God is sovereign. We will see God use that authority on pharaoh’s heart to accomplish his goals but we have to remember God has given man a choice.

We live in a fallen world. We are fallen because God gave us the ability to choose. Without choice there cannot be love.

God will always accomplish His will. Sinful man, with his ability to choose, will oppose it.

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. —John 3:19-20

B. The Israelites vent their anger by confronting Moses and Aaron.

In frustration, Moses questions God’s plan for the release of the Israelites.

So Moses went back to the Lord and asked, “Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? And why did you ever send me? 23 Ever since I went into Pharaoh to speak in your name he has caused trouble for this people, and you haven’t rescued your people at all.” —Exodus 5:22-23

When we don’t get the win we are looking for, the easiest thing to do is blame God.

We wrestle and finally surrender to…

• Teach the kids… They run around in circles screaming and your lesson is destroyed.
• Host a life group… They just to eat and fellowship and ignore the bible study.
• Help my neighbor… He is the most ungrateful man on the planet.

We will be opposed. Listen, your decision to serve do what God calls you too is a struggle to surrender but that is not the battle. We wrestle not against flesh and blood.

III. Why does God call us to things that do not work out?

Two things:

1) God is doing greater things with your obedience

• We inhabit a world that is dominated by those who oppose the fulfillment of God’s will on earth.
• At all levels, those who have no personal relationship with God are likely to live in opposition to him and his purposes.
• A consequence of this disconnection with God is violence toward others. Evil oppressors take delight in destroying the well-being of other people. The latest Global Estimates of Modern Slavery, published by the International Labor Organization, International Organization for Migration and international human rights group Walk Free, revealed that last year, some 50 million people were living in modern slavery. Forced labor, forced marriages( ages 16 and under) and sexual trafficking.
• Evil opposes God. Do not be surprised.
• God is about to make a statement to a power that not only enslaves people for their own agenda but then kills their children and calls it good.
• Although the book of Exodus plays down the idea of Pharaoh being a god, this was the status attributed to the Egyptian king.
• He exercised absolute authority over his people. To challenge Pharaoh’s authority was a rejection of Egyptian beliefs regarding the gods who supposedly maintained order over their society and promised them well-being.

But the Lord replied to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: because of a strong hand he will let them go, and because of a strong hand he will drive them from his land.” —Exodus 6:1

• By indicating that Pharaoh will “drive them out of his country,” God confirms that the future of the Israelites lies outside the land of Egypt. Pharaoh will do more than merely allow them to go into the wilderness for three days.

A king’s heart is like channeled water in the Lord’s hand: He directs it wherever he chooses. —Proverbs 21:1

• God was not just freeing the Israelites from slavery of the Egyptians. He was also freeing the Egyptians from the tyranny of their gods.

God’s redemptive plan is at work all around us. Sometimes we don’t see the connections and sometimes we feel like he is not doing anything. Mary and Martha watched their brother die thinking Jesus was doing nothing, but Lazarus had to die to be raised from the dead. God has bigger fish to fry than mowing your ungrateful neighbor’s lawn. That is just a piece of a bigger puzzle he is working on. God is doing greater things with your obedience.

2) He wants you to know His name!

Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I was not known to them by my name ‘the Lord.’ 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as aliens. 5 Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are forcing to work as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.6 “Therefore tell the Israelites: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians and rescue you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you to the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.” —Exodus 6:2-9

• Pharoah cried who is Yahweh 5:2 This is a question we as Christians should lean into. Pharoah spoke it facetiously, but we need to ask it our selves, especially in times of discouragement.
• The interpretation of verse 3 has prompted much discussion. The wording of some English translations implies that the patriarchs did not know God’s personal name Yahweh. However, this seems to contradict what Genesis says, because the patriarchs did know the name of Yahweh (e.g., Gen. 15:7).
• The patriarchs of Genesis knew God’s personal name Yahweh but they did not understand all that it meant.
• I AM everything you will ever need, I AM Your strength and redeemer, I AM your solace in sorrow, I AM your encouragement when you are discouraged. Come and know the truth of I AM!
• You will know that I AM the lord your God who brought you out of the slavery of sin and I will redeem you so that where I AM you may be also.

You may be discouraged right now. Sickness in your family. Your personal ministry is not working out. God might even seem to be doing nothing to help you. Remember God is always working. He is always faithful! All of His promises are true! For He is YAHWEH! The great I AM. I AM everything you need to make it through. He calls each of us to come and know His name.

SUMMARY

Although Moses and Aaron have been commissioned by God to bring about the release of the Israelites from brutal slavery, the initial result of their message has the opposite effect. For the Israelites, the good news of God’s concern for them turns sour as Pharaoh rejects it. With good reason, Jesus warned his followers that they and their message would not always be received enthusiastically. Anyone serving God today must be prepared to face discouragement. In the midst of life’s difficulties, it is easy to focus on our troubles and to lose sight of the one who is sovereign over all. Without condemning Moses, God comforts and reassures him. In doing so, he reminds Moses of who He is. The great I AM. God is doing more with your obedience and he calls you back to himself in your discouragement so you can know His name. Like Moses, those who look to God will find reassurance in his promises regarding the future. The journey to our heavenly destination, the new Jerusalem, can also be long and hard, but if we keep our focus on where we are headed, we will realize that the end result of the journey is worth the hardships along the way.