Skip HeitzigSkip Heitzig

Skip's Teachings > 02 Exodus - 2011 > Exodus 5-6

Message:

SHORT URL: http://SkipHeitzig.com/893 Copy to Clipboard
BUY: Buy CD

Exodus 5-6

Taught on | Topic: Moses | Keywords: Moses, Exodus, pharaoh, Egypt, slaves, redemption, tetragrammaton, YHVH, Yaweh, Yaveh

After presenting his list of excuses before the Lord, Moses finally asks Pharaoh to let Israel go. But when Moses submits himself to the Lord things get harder for Israel. We'll learn some important principles about spiritual warfare and the sovereignty of God as we dive into Exodus 5-6, where "The Great Confrontation" between Moses and Pharaoh begins.

Date Title   WatchListenNotes Share SaveBuy
2/2/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 5-6
Exodus 5-6
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
After presenting his list of excuses before the Lord, Moses finally asks Pharaoh to let Israel go. But when Moses submits himself to the Lord things get harder for Israel. We'll learn some important principles about spiritual warfare and the sovereignty of God as we dive into Exodus 5-6, where "The Great Confrontation" between Moses and Pharaoh begins.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD

Series Description

Show expand

02 Exodus - 2011

02 Exodus - 2011

Beginning in the brickyards of Egypt and ending in the tabernacle filled with God's presence, the book of Exodus chronicles the deliverance of God's people from Egypt and records the end of their oppression under Pharaoh. It also provides an account of the beginning of a prophecy fulfilled: God promised Abraham descendants beyond number, and on the pages of Exodus we see Israel become a great nation.

In this verse-by-verse study, Pastor Skip Heitzig presents an in-depth look at Moses, the ten plagues, the ten commandments, the desert wanderings, the construction of the tabernacle, and more. As we study, we'll see the grace of God, witness the glory of the Lord, and a catch a glimpse of Israel's coming Savior.

Visit expoundabq.org for more information on this series.

FREE - Download Entire Series (MP3) (Help) | Buy series | Buy audiobook

Detailed Notes

    Open as Word Doc Open as Word Doc    Copy Copy to Clipboard    Print icon    Hide contract

  1. Introduction  – Review Exodus 4
    1. God called Moses for His purpose
    2. Moses' five excuses
      1. Incapable
      2. Unknowledgeable
      3. Fearful
      4. Unsuitable
      5. Inflexible
      6. "An excuse is the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie." —Billy Sunday
    3. Moses called God Lord, but didn't treat him as Lord (Ruler, Sovereign)
      1. Like Peter: God said, "Rise and Eat!" Peter responded, "Not so, Lord" (See Acts 10:13-14)
        1. Not so, Lord is a self-canceling statement
        2. You don't tell a Lord "no"
    4. God acquiesces to Moses and allows Aaron to be the spokesperson
      1. Aaron is not God's highest
        1. It will cause problems later
        2. Aaron lacks the leadership capability to say, "No!"
      2. God will lift you to the highest level you allow
    5. God will harden Pharaoh's heart
      1. חָזַק  chazaq - to fortify or to strengthen (God fortifies Pharaoh's choice)
      2. כָּבַד Kabad - heavy, insensible   (Pharaoh makes his own choice)
    6. The Lord sought to kill Moses because Moses neglected to circumcise his son
      1. Circumcision was a sign of the covenant
      2. Moses failed to show he believed God
      3. Moses was the leader of the covenant people; God deals more harshly with leaders (See James 3:1)
      4. Why didn't Moses circumcise his son?
        1. Based on Zipporah's response, she didn't agree with it
        2. Moses failed to be the spiritual leader in his home
  2. Exodus 5
    1. "The Great Confrontation"
      1. Moses - imperfect, filled with excuses, but the man of God
      2. Pharaoh - man of the world
    2. Who is the Lord?  Reasonable request:
      1. Defiant at its base
      2. Legitimately doesn't know who Yahweh is
      3. The pharaohs were considered deities related to the sun god "Ra"
      4. Pharaoh knew the Egyptian gods
      5. Rabbinical legend: Pharaoh turned to his counselors and asked, "Do you know a god by this name, the god of eternity?" They said, "We have sought in all the books of all the peoples among the names of all the gods and have not found YHVH among them."
    3. Pattern of grace before judgment
      1. Ask permission to go worship with a soft approach
      2. Before the flood, God sent Noah as a preacher of righteousness
      3. Before God will judge Egypt, He sends Moses
    4. Pharaoh is a type of Satan
      1. When he sees God's people yearn for Him, he oppresses them
      2. When someone is drawn to Christ, the enemy attacks
      3. When a Christian wholeheartedly commits to the Lordship of Christ, attacks come
      4. Satan must submit to God's power, but he doesn't go away without a fight
      5. When the father brought the demon-possessed boy to Jesus, the demon "threw him down and tore him" (Luke 9:42 WBT)
      6. "So long as a person has no desire to come to Christ, the devil will leave him alone, but once a soul is awakened to his need of a Savior and begins to seriously seek Him, Satan will put forth every effort to hinder him." — Arthur Pink
    5. Pharaoh calls divine revelation "false words"
      1. "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14)
      2. Paul before Agrippa quotes the Old Testament and Festus says "Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!"(Acts 26:24)
    6. More work for the slaves
      1. No straw, collect stubble
      2. Bricks (like adobe) clay and water mixed with straw
      3. Archaeological evidence of: layers of brick with straw, followed by layers of brick with stubble, and later layers of brick from clay and no straw
      4. Pharaoh is unreasonable with men and stingy with straw
    7. The sovereignty of God
      1. Moses obeys God, yet Pharaoh doesn't budge
      2. In our own lives we must obey and hang onto God's promises
      3. God has the ability to direct life
        1. Job lost his children and his health and says, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21)
        2. Children of Israel were completely dependent on outside source for deliverance
        3. Our condition is like theirs: We can't help ourselves (Ephesians 2) "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" (John 3:6) and incapable of change.
        4. We should have compassion on hardened unbelievers: they are blinded
    8. God's people cried out to Pharaoh not God
      1. The punishment for failing to meet the quota is more work
        1. Archaeological evidence
        2. Custom to kill slaves or drive them into the ground with more labor
      2. Pharaoh met with the slaves to get people to turn on their leaders
      3. People should have gone to Aaron and Moses and cried out the Lord together
      4. When things get bad at work, go to God first
    9. God's people accuse Moses and Aaron
      1. They don't have all the information
      2. It is a preview of coming attractions
      3. Opposition within the ranks of God's people can be worse than outside persecution
      4. We submit to one another and to the Word of God
      5. Qualifications of a pastor: "The mind of a scholar, the heart of a child, and the hide of a rhinoceros." —Stuart Briscoe
    10. Moses returns to the Lord
      1. Why are You hurting Your people?
      2. Why did You pick me to help You hurt Your people?
      3. Moses sees a discrepancy between what God promised and what is happening
      4. Moses presumed how and when God would fulfill His promise
        1. God had told Moses, "But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go." (Exodus 3:19-20)
        2. When God makes a promise, read the fine print!
  3. Exodus 6
    1. God answers Moses
      1. I am the LORD YHVH
      2. I am going to fulfill my promise
      3. My name is my bond
    2. YHVH

      The Tetragrammaton: (4-lettered Name)

      Hebrew

      Letter name

      Pronunciation

      י

      Yodh

      "Y"

      ה

      He

      "H"

      ו

      Waw

      "W" or placeholder for "O"/"U" vowel

      ה

      He

      "H" (or often a silent letter at the end of a word)


      1. Had known God as אֵל שַׁדָּי El Shaddai God Almighty
      2. We don't know the original pronunciation of YHVH
      3. Masoretes took the consonants YHVH  of and combined them with the vowels of Adonai
      4. Opinion of scholars Yaveh or Yaweh
    3. I will redeem - גָּאַל   gaal   -to redeem, act as kinsman  God is Goel, same word
    4. Seven "I wills" of redemption
      1. Emphasis of redemption I not what we do, but what God does
      2. "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," (Romans 5:1)
      3. We are declared just based not on what we do, but on what Christ did for us 
      4. Paul's New Testament letters grace precedes peace
      5. You will never know the peace of God until you understand the grace of God
    5. It is hard to receive the truth when you have a broken, crushed spirit
    6. Moses excuse: If the people won't listen to me, why would the pharaoh?
    7. Partial Genealogy of Reuben, Simeon, and Levi
      1. Reminds readers that Moses and Aaron were selected by God and perfect for the job
      2. God had it all planned out
      3. Arrival of Jacob's family in Egypt was God's providence
      4. Key figures include: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Levi, Kohath, Amram
      5. Levi's sons Gerson, Kohath, and Merari are important to the set up of the tabernacle
    8. Moses again makes excuses
      1. Transparent as the author of Exodus
      2. He always felt inadequate
        1. God used him
        2. God committed to using one as inadequate as he
        3. However little you have, placed in God's hands, He will multiply
        4. "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" (John 6:9)
        5. Come as you are

Hebrew terms: חָזַק  chazaq - to fortify or to strengthen; כָּבַד Kabad - heavy, insensible ; יְהוָה֙YHVH - Yaveh; אֵל שַׁדָּ֑י El Shaddai God Almighty; גָּאַל   gaal   -to redeem, act as kinsman
Figures Referenced: Billy Sunday, Stuart Briscoe, Arthur Pink
Cross References: Exodus 3:19-20; Job 1:21; Luke 9:42; John 3:6; John 6:9; Acts 10:13-14; Acts 26:24; Romans 5:1; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 2; James 3:1

Transcript

Open as Word Doc Open as Word Doc    Copy Copy to Clipboard    Print icon    Show expand

Pastor Skip Heitzig:   Let's pray together.  Father in heaven, we thank You for your goodness to us.  We thank You for the testimony that we heard about the body of Christ in another state and how You work so magnificently wherever You plant Your people.  We understand that You have a unique plan for each individual and for each city.  And Father, we do lift up also our brother Servy(ph) in Mongolia and his family and as they weathered a horrible below zero temperatures all winter long.  We pray You would give them Your grace and strength and a plan for the continuance of Your work there.  Also for the unrest in Cairo tonight and all that is going on in the Middle East and we can see Your hand behind it all but we know there's a lot of suffering and a lot of anger in these countries and we pray that Jesus would be glorified and those who know You there would see this as an opportunity to be used.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Well, when left off last time with Moses, we saw how that God was the calling him for his purpose through a burning bush.  And as God was telling him what he wanted Moses to do, Moses wasn't so excited about doing it, was he?  He had several excuses, five of them to be exact, that we saw in the last chapter.

The first excuse is, "I'm incapable, God."  Moses said, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?  I'm not capable to do it."  The second excuse is "I'm unknowledgeable, Lord.  They're going to ask me a question and I won't know the answer to it.  They might ask me Your name and I don't know what to tell them."  The third thing is he said, "I'm fearful.  What if I tell them what You want me to tell them and nobody believes me?"  So he is setting up imaginary scenarios and using that as an excuse saying, "I'm going to be too afraid."  The fourth excuse was "I'm unsuitable.  I'm not the one for the job.  You need a spokesperson.  I'm a man," he said "of uncircumcised lips" or "I have a speech impediment.  I stutter."

But we discovered that those four excuses were really a front for the fifth and real reason.  Remember we quoted Billy Sunday who said an excuse is the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie.  So he gave several excuses but the bottom line truth was when he said, "Send somebody else, Lord.  Send somebody else."  So the truth was he was inflexible.  He just didn't want to do it, "Send somebody else."  So we read in chapter four that the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses.

Now, here's a principle and we're going to look at a couple of verses in chapter four that I had to skip over very quickly last week before we closed and I just need to treat them.  But here's a bottom line problem I think you could relate to, at least some of you.

Moses called God the 'Lord" but he didn't treat God like He was the Lord.  It's one thing to call Him 'Lord', which means ruler, sovereign, you're in charge.  You call the shots, I do what You say.  You say jump and my only response is, "And how high would you like?"  That's what the Lord is.  Though he said the word 'Lord', he didn't treat God as Lord.

Now Peter had that problem in the New Testament.  You remember the story when Peter, in the Book of Acts, was at Joppa and he was praying and the Lord gave him a vision at noontime, and in the vision he saw unkosher beasts, animals four-footed things and the Lord said, "Peter, get up.  Kill those things and eat them."  And Peter said, "Not so, Lord.  I've never had anything unkosher or unclean."  Did you get what he said?  "Not so, Lord."  You can't do that.  That's a self-cancelling statement.  You can say, "Not so, you" or "Not so, friend", but you can't say, "Not so" and "Lord" in the same sentence because if He is Lord, then you don't say "Not so".  You go, "So, Lord, when would you like me to do that?"  That's the problem Peter had.

I discovered in Spanish and I had four years of Spanish in high school.  I forgot most of it but there's an interesting problem similar to this in the Spanish language.  The word for mister is 'Señior' and the word for Lord is 'El Señor', the Lord.  But for the outsider listening to it, it would sound like if you say "Señor Jones" or "Señor Jesus", that it's the same thing.  In English, that problem remains for us.  We call Him 'Lord' but we don't treat Him as that, and that is one Moses' issues here.

So here's what God does.  God acquiesces to what Moses is complaining about and He allows Aaron, his older brother, to be the spokesperson.  So in effect, God is going to reveal what He needs to reveal to Moses, Moses is going to tell Aaron what the Lord said and Aaron is going to be the spokesman before Pharaoh.  But understand that Aaron was not God's highest.  He was not God's highest choice.  In fact, Aaron causes problems later on.

Aaron does not have the leadership capability to say no when there is rebellion in the camp when Moses will go up on Mt. Sinai to receive the law and Aaron will be back in the camp and the children of Israel want to build a golden calf.  Aaron goes along with them instead of putting his foot down and saying, "No!  That's not going to be done.  That's not right.  This is not what our God wants."  So he will cause problems later on.

Now here's a principle I want you to remember.  God always seeks to bring you to the highest level possible in life to use you.  And He will always do the best for you at that level.  But we can settle for several rungs down the ladder, one or two or three or four because we have excuses, we don't cooperate, we don't obey Him.  And so here's God wanting to bring us to the highest possible level and bless us and do the best for us at that level.  But we sometimes don't allow Him to bring us to that level and so we settle for second or third best.

As I see it in those chapters that we covered last week, Moses let his own inadequacy overshadow God's adequacy.  It wasn't about Moses and God will reinforce that.  It's about God.

So back in Chapter 4:21, there are just a couple of versus I want to touch on before we jump into the next two chapters.  Good luck finishing them tonight.

Verse 21 is troubling and I got a comment on it.  The Lord said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before pharaoh which I have put in your hand, but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go."  What's up with that?  Why would God say, "Okay, go and do what I want you to do but I'm going to harden his heart."  So what's the point?

Well, that's a frequently asked question and I want to tell you the answer.  The Hebrew word for harden here is the Hebrew word 'Hazaq'.  Hazaq, say that.  You got to do this because you all get the guy in the neck right in front of you, "Hazaq".  And 'Hazaq' means to fortify or to strengthen, to fortify or to strengthen.  Later on, we're going to read that pharaoh hardens his own heart.  It's a totally different word.  It's the word 'Kabad' which means heavy.

He makes his own heart insensible.  That's another translation of Kabad -- heavy or insensible.  He makes his own choice and then God comes along and fortifies the choice that he makes.  Do you understand the difference?  He makes the choice and God will fortify the choice that he will make.  So God is saying, "Okay pharaoh, make a choice.  Whatever choice you make for good or evil, I'm going to fortify or harden or strengthen the resolve that you have."  So the pharaoh will harden his own heart, "Kabad".  God will come along and "Hazaq" his heart -- fortify it, strengthen it.  And so that helps us understand the dilemma, verse 24 of chapter four.

It came to pass on the way at the encampment that the Lord met him, that's Moses, and sought to kill him.  Okay, again we go, "What's up with that?"  So why would God choose him, first of all, and then after choosing him, why would God then seek to kill him?  Well, let's read on.

"Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin or her son and cast it at Moses feet."  It's amazing what you read in the bible.  And said, "Surely, you are a husband of blood to me."  It sounds like Zipporah is mad at Moses.  And so He, capitalized, that is Lord, let him go, that is Moses.  And then she said, "You" to Moses, "You are a husband of blood", because of the circumcision."

Now we understand a couple of things by these verses.  Its evident, number one, Moses neglected to circumcise his son, he didn't do it.  Well that's a problem because go all the way back to Genesis in your mind when God made a covenant with Abraham.  And the Lord said "Abraham, from now on not only your son, but your descendants in every generation will keep a covenant with me and here is the covenant between me and you.  Every male child will be circumcised the eighth day."  They were then to be the people of the covenant and that was the sign of the covenant.

So Moses neglected to show that he believed like Abraham believed in God that was accounted to him for righteousness and he circumcised his son.   Moses failed to show that he believed God.  Well here is the problem.  He is the leader of the covenant people, he is the leader of the people that are circumcising their children because they believe God and he himself is neglecting to do it.  God has a problem with that and I know it sounds harsh that God sought to kill him but you know what, there is a principle throughout the Bible that God will often deal harder with his leaders than with the people that the leaders lead.

The New Testaments says, "Be not many teachers or masters, you will receive the greater condemnation."  Well here is a question, why did he neglect to circumcise his son if he is going to lead the people but he is not going to circumcise his son, why did he do it?  We don't know for certain but based upon the response that's coming from Zipporah, he might have suggested that early on in the marriage, "Hey, I just want you to know that where I grew up, my belief system, we circumcise our boys."  And she probably was not into the whole ritual at all.  She says, "We don't do that in my country, it's not part of our customs, it's not part of our culture, I don't want to do that."

And what I think happened is Moses acquiesce to his wife because he didn't want to make waves, didn't want to hassle, didn't want to hassle, and that's the problem.  When a husband fails to be the spiritual leader of a home and will rather acquiesce and not hassle rather than leaving his wife and his children along and that's why there is always a danger when husbands and wives disagree on spiritual matters.  Now I know when people are young and in love, "Oh, it will work out, God will work it all out.  Even though the Bible says be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, I'll win her, all win him to Christ in this marriage."  Oh really?  Well they might make a decision and harden their heart and God might come along and confirm that decision.

So it's better to work that out in advance and it seems like they have not worked that out at all.  I have a catch question.  Let's throw that up on the screen so we can answer it.  It says, "Are the king and the Pharaoh the same person?"  Yes, they are.  The Pharaoh is a particular type of king indigenous to the nation and the culture of Egypt.  The Pharaoh wasn't a first name, it was a designation like a monarch or a sovereign or a king.  And so the Bible uses this two terms interchangeably.  There is not like a Pharaoh and a sub-Pharaoh called the king, the king and Pharaoh are identical.

Now chapter five, where we really want to start tonight, begins what I'm going to call the great confrontation.  In this corner, ladies and gentlemen, is the man of God named Moses.  And in this corner, ladies and gentlemen, is the man of the world called Pharaoh and they're about to have a mighty clash.  What the man of the world doesn't understand is that the odds are stacked against him because Moses imperfect, filled with excuses, God issues, is Moses the man of God?  And the power of God is going to work through him.  Chapter 5 Verse 1, afterward Moses and Aaron, see they're both together now, so brothers, Moses and his older brother, Aaron, went in and told Pharaoh.  "Thus says the Lord God of Israel, let my people go that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness."  And Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice and let Israel go?  I do not know the Lord nor will let Israel go."  It's a good question, "Who is the Lord?"  So, God's going to introduce himself to Pharaoh through ten plagues so he will know unmistakably who the Lord is.

Now I've got to tell you, to be fair to Pharaoh, that didn't come out right but to be fair to Pharaoh, for him to ask this question is understandable.  It might sound defiant and no doubt at its very base, its very root it is.  But it's not like he knows God or he knows that these people believes in that God, he legitimately doesn't know who Yahweh, their God, is  And here is why, the Egyptians considered the Pharaoh families to be deity, related to the son God, Ra.  So Pharaoh grew up believing he was a deity and he knew who Osiris was and he knew who Ra was and he knew who Heca was and all of the Gods and Goddesses of the land.  But he goes, "Who is Yahweh?"  That's the name that Moses says presumably to him, the name of the Lord, "Who is he?"

Now we don't know for certain but there is a rabbinical legend that says when Moses came and stood before Pharaoh and says, "Let my people go.  Thus the Lord says this," that Pharaoh turned to his 70 court councilors and said these words, "Do you know a God by this name, the God of eternity, Yahweh?"  And they said, "We have sought in all of the books of all of the peoples among all of the names of all the God's and have not found 'Yahweh' among them.  Now that's not in the Bible but that's what the rabbis said and it's a legend that was passed down that may or may not be true, but here is a Pharaoh who didn't know who this god was.  Verse 3, so they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us."  Now watch this, "Please," not nice, "Please let us go three days journey into the desert and sacrifice to the Lord our God.  Less thee fall upon us with pestilence or with sword."  Notice it's a direct approach but it's a soft approach, it's a ask permission approach.  They don't come in and say, "Okay, you Pagan turkey, you better do what we say or you're toast."  "Please," was the request, a very sweet and soft approach at first but it will change, trust me.

Then the king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people from their work?  Get back to your labor."  I mentioned the approach will change, you'll see that next week.  However, I do see a pattern and it's part of God's grace.  You see, God first comes in with revelation and with grace and with mercy and with invitation before he comes in with judgment.  Way before God sent a flood, the Bible says, "God sent Noah and he is called a preacher of righteousness."  He was a testimony to the people of long suffering and patience and they saw him and heard those messages week after week and month after month while that arc was going up.

And they heard that merciful cry and invitation long before God send a flood.  And so it is here, before God will judge Egypt comes this gracious approach and invitation.  Verse five, Moses said, "Look, the people of the land are many now and you make them rest from their labor."  So the same day Pharaoh commanded the task masters of the people and their officers saying, "You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick as before, let them go and gather straw for themselves."  So you see Pharaoh is starting to harden his heart and then God is going to fortify that.  But he is starting to just sort of dig his heels in and make life harder for them.

The way I see it, Pharaoh is a lot like Satan.  As soon as Pharaoh sees the people of Israel wanting to get serious about God and worship God and hold the feast to the Lord, Pharaoh puts his foot down and makes life harder for them.  And I say that's a lot like the devil because, you see, whenever a person comes to a place in his or her life where they think, "You know, I'm curios about the things of God.  I'm going to start going to church and I'm going to ask questions and I like to see about my life being changed.  I don't want to live this wait any longer."  Or if it's a Christian who says, "I really want to give God 100%.  I don't want to give him the leftovers.  I really want to live in such a way that he is the Lord of my life."  Do you think with that decision that Satan and all of his demons are going to give you standing ovation for that?  You think they're going to sit idly by and go, "That's a great choice, we agree with that."?

Now, that's when they're going to dig their heels in and often the attacks will come.  And that's why when people come they go, "I don't get it.  I've been seeking the Lord more than ever before and I've been more spiritual and more devoted and I've seen yet more trials in my life."  And I got to say, I go, "That's good sign."  It's a good sign.  It sort of cements in my own heart this whole spiritual warfare thing that we're talking about.

Now I know that Satan must submit to God's power, but he's not going to go away without a fight.  Remember in the New Testament, the dad who had a son who is demon possessed?  And that father brought that son to Jesus, implores Jesus, "Jesus please, I brought this kid to your disciples, they couldn't do anything about it.  Would you please change his life?"  It says as the boy was coming to Jesus, the demon threw him down and tore him.

That demon that inhabited that boy knew that that boy's life would be changed in a little bit because his confronting the power of all powers.  And he is not going to go down without a fight.  One person put it this way, "So long as the person has no desire to come to Christ, the devil will leave him alone.  But once the soul is awakened to his need of a savior and begins to seriously seek him, Satan will put port every effort to hinder him."

I want you to be aware of this now because you're going to see this analogy of the devil and Satan grows throughout the book of Exodus.  He becomes a type of the enemy, a type of Satan very clearly as we go on.  Verse eight, "And you lay on them the quota of the bricks which make before.  You shall not reduce it for they are idle.  Therefore, they cry out saying, "Let us go and sacrifice to our God."  Let more work be laid on the men that they may labor in it and let them not regard false words."  Do you understand his reasoning?  What he is saying basically is this, "If they have so much time on their hands that they think they can take a week off work to go out in the wilderness and have a little sacrifice party to the Lord, it must mean they don't have enough work."

I'm going to give them more work because they're saying, "We need a week vacation."  So it was punitive there with his response.  Now look at what, in verse nine, what Pharaoh calls the revelation of God, "And let them not regard false words."  You get that?  Pharaoh regards the words that God spoke to Moses and Moses gave to Aaron and Aaron gives to Pharaoh, the words of God as false words.  This shouldn't surprise us.  The Bible says in 1 Corinthians these words, "The natural man does not receive the things of the spirit of God neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned."

The unbeliever sees the Bible, the Word of God, as pure fiction, false words.  You remember in the New Testament when Paul stood before King Agrippa and Paul was giving his defense telling King Agrippa what happened to him when he was arrested in Jerusalem?  But what Paul does, is he reaches back in the Old Testament, he quotes the prophets and he quotes the law.  He quotes the scripture of the Old Testament.

And when he is quoting that, Festus, who is there on trial, also a Roman official, said, "Paul, you're much learning is driving you crazy, man.  You're nuts.  You actually believe that stuff?  That's nuts."  It's the same sentiment, false words.  "And the task masters," verse ten, "of the people and their officers went out and spoke to the people saying, "Thus says Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.  Go.  Get yourselves straw where you can find it."  Yet none of your work shall be reduced.

So, the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble.  They didn't have straw; they had to gather stubble instead of straw.  Stubble was part of the stalk of the grain and the corn that was left over in a field after harvest.  And that whatever they could get, they got from those fields and whatever weeds, dried weeds that also would constitute stubble as well.

When the children of Israel or let me put it this way, when slaves made bricks for the Egyptians.  And there's a lot of archeological evidence of that throughout the land.  They made bricks that were pretty familiar within the State.  They made adobe bricks.

They were between 14 and 20 inches long, between seven to nine inches wide and about that thick.  And they would lace straw to fortify them so that they wouldn't crack.  If you even seen old walls and homes were they have either wood or metal lath, it's called, and they put plaster, lath and plaster.  The lath keeps the plaster from falling out of the wall over time.  Those adobe bricks can dry out in the sun and what keeps them together is the brick, the straw.  In this case, the weeds.

Now, they've discovered in archaeology that when bricks were made by the slaves, they were always stamped, each brick, with the name of the king who commissioned the work to be done.  They built homes with them, they built towers with them, they built walls, all adobe bricks, and they even built some tombs.  The great stone Pyramids were for the great Pharaohs and there were a lot of those around too, but the common building material was adobe brick.

So, the children of Israel would make these bricks, they would stamp the king in them, but here's what I wanted to say, there's archaeological evidence where they find layers of brick with straw in them, full length straw for fortification, layers above that which where added later that have stubble in them, weeds, and other layers on top that have nothing buy clay to them.  To fortify the story, to authenticate the story that we read here, they have found that archaeologically.

And verse 13, the task masters forced them to hurry saying, "Fulfill your work, your daily quota," as when there was straw.  So Pharaoh was very unreasonable with men and very stingy with straw and God is going to punch his lights out because of it.  We have a question that came up.  It's a question I knew would be ask.  Let's put it up and you'll see it.  "Why did they ask to go for three days when they weren't coming back?"

Now that's a great question.  I knew somebody was going to ask that.  And honestly, I've discovered that commentators don't like that question because nobody really deals with it.  The best I can come up with is pretty simple.  God told Moses back in chapter three and four.  Go to Pharaoh and tell them, "Let us go for three days in the wilderness."  That's what God said.  So, he is simply obeying what God told him to do.  Yes, they weren't coming back.

This could be a test balloon.  "Look, would you just let us go for three days?"  Perhaps this was one of the indicators of God's grace and mercy because God wanted his people to be able to worship him freely.  And the idea is, "Will you let God's people dwell in your land and not worshipping your gods but worshipping their God in an open way, in a freedom of religion way?  Would you at least allow that?"  Maybe that would've stayed some of God's judgment on them because God said, "He's not going to let you go except with a mighty hand."

And he hardened his heart, but he didn't have to harden his heart.  So this could have been a test balloon to open the door to see if there would be a freedom of religion before they would go all the way and perhaps that would've lessened God judgment depending on the decision of his heart.  Hard to say, nobody really addresses that question much but I thought I'd bring it up since you asked.

Verse eight, I already read that.  Verse 13, "And task masters forced them to hurry saying fulfill.  Verse 14, "Also the officers of the children of Israel whom Pharaoh's task masters had over them were beaten and were asked, "Why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today as before?"  Do you see what's happening?  Moses is obeying God.  Moses is saying exactly what God wants him to say.  And yet, Pharaoh wasn't budging.

In fact, Pharaoh was moving in the opposite direction, making life not easier but harder for them.  Now Moses is frustrated.  The children of Israel are more oppressed, suffering more.  And so here's the question I ask at this point, is God still sovereign?  At this point, is God still sovereign?  Yes.  Okay, of course, you're going to say yes to that because, yeah, he is. We know the rest of the story.  How about in your life when you pray and you pray and you hold on the God's promises and it doesn't seem to be working?  It's not going the way you thought it would go.  Is God still sovereign?

I'm bringing this up folks because if truly if you can get your heart around the sovereignty of God, your life will be different.  If you can look at God's incredible ability to direct your life from beginning to end, good and bad, if you can rest in that it will be for you a soft pillow to a tired heart.

I commend to you Job, one of the oldest books perhaps the very first one in the Bible as old as the patriarchs.  You know his story one day he enjoyed 10 children he loved them, he pampered them, it was God's gift to him.  And one day he lost ten children.  He lost his health and unfortunately he didn't lose his friends.  They came to him and pestered him, but you know what he said when he lost it all he says "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord".

Can you imagine after losing your children to say, "You know what? God gave life to begin with, God has the right to take them all away from me, they were his to give me anyway, blessed be the name of the Lord".  He got his heart around the sovereignty of God and it was for him a soft pillow to a tired heart.

Moses hasn't gotten his heart around that yet, oh he will, he will eventually, but if we could do that our lives would certainly change.  Now, the condition of the children of Israel was very much like our condition.  The children of Israel we're totally helpless. They couldn't deliver themselves they didn't have the strength to fight against pharaoh and his army, they couldn't escape Egypt.  They were completely dependent on an outside source and that is God.

That was our condition the Bible says in the Ephesians "You were without Christ having no hope and without God in this world".  Couldn't help yourself, couldn't deliver yourself, couldn't turn over a new leaf.  Jesus put it this way; that which is of the flesh is flesh.  You could not change yourself. You and I depended on the outside source of God through Christ to enable us to be saved to be born again.

I'm bringing that up because I want you to have compassion when you see hardened unbelievers.  They harden their heart and they'll say some pretty nasty things to you if you represent God correctly.  They'll shake their fist to God just have a little pity for them, they're blinded, they can't see it.  Just like if there was a physically blind person and you described a beautiful sunset and you could do that all night and they would say "That sounds wonderful but I can't see it".  Or if you were to describe to somebody who is deaf a beautiful symphony or a concert, again that'd be great but they cant hear it, they lack the capability and so it is with an unbeliever.

We were in that same position, verse 15 then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried out to pharaoh saying, "Why are you dealing thus with your servants?"  Did you notice that?  Who did they cry out to?  They cried out to pharaoh, I see that as a mistake.  Why didn't they first cry out to God?  No they go to the boss, it's a civil issue, I'm going to protest, I'm going to the government with this one, I'm going to change the laws in Egypt, I don't like these things.

They didn't pray first, they complained at the pharaoh and they said, "There's no straw given to your servants" and they say to us, "Make brick and indeed your servants are beaten but the fault is in your own people".  But he said, "You are idle, therefore you say let us go and sacrifice to the Lord therefore go now and work for no straw shall be given you, yet you shall deliver the quota of bricks."

Before somebody text me a question on this, I want to kind of nip it in the bud.  Sounds a bit odd that the punishment for the inability to keep the quota up is to give them more work, we're not going to give you straw, you're not delivering the quota so I'm going to now make you do more, that does sounds totally unreasonable.

If French Egyptologist some years ago stumbled upon a piece of papyrus with Egyptian writing on it that described 12 brick maker slaves who are unable to fulfill their quota or to fulfill the job, actually the papyrus said.  They failed at their job so the punishment of those 12 slaves was to be given more work.  So it is in line with history and with Egyptlogical records that the punishment for slaves was to either kill them or drive them into the ground by more labor.

And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble after it was said you shall not reduce any bricks from your daily quota.  Something else I want to bring up, some believe it's highly unusual and even unlikely that a group of slaves would be able to have an audience with pharaoh right?  I mean he's pharaoh, he's not going to be with slaves, he might meet with his executive staff but he's not going to meet with slaves.

But actually he did meet with slaves and it was good policy for him.  Pharaoh was smart he thought if I can be with the slaves and tell them what Moses and Aaron are trying to pull, I can get the people to turn on their leaders it will be civil war.  They'll oust the leaders it'll be coup among them and this thing will never get off the ground.

It was very wise to turn people against their own leaders by having an audience with the population and so he did.  But I want to get back to a point I just mentioned, rather than going to the king they should have gone to Aaron and Moses and said, "Okay, you heard from God, cool.  Life is pretty tough can we get together and have a peer meeting, can we talk to God about this?  Because this really hard, we're just going to voice our dependence and we're going to, as one group of people cry out to the Lord together".

They didn't do that I think this sets the tone for the next 40 years, because for the next 40 years they're going to be complaining against God's will and complaining against God's leaders instead of praying first.  Here's what I want to say, when things get bad for you at work and you're tempted to complain to your co-workers or complain to your boss or go the HR department.  Why don't you take it to God first, ever thought about that?  I'm God's child I'm going to pray about this first, I'm going to ask God for wisdom about this first instead of taking it to a human court and human level.

And I think especially as children of God we have to do that, God's people didn't hear.  Verse 20 then as they came out from pharaoh they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet them and you know this isn't going to go over good.  And they said to them, "Let the Lord look on you and Judge."  That's what the people say to Moses and Aaron, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of pharaoh and in the sight of his servants to put a sword in their hand to kill us.  Ouch!  Talk about being misunderstood, you know why they were misunderstood because the children of Israel didn't have the full information.

They just have a little piece of it; they didn't see the big picture of what God was doing.  So this is a preview of coming attractions, Moses and Aaron get lambasted by God's people, they're misunderstood.  Now I've discovered something like this, opposition within the ranks of God's people can be far worse than the persecution that comes from the world.  The in-fighting and the squabbling and the level of rancor that can be among God's own people who won't submit themselves humbly to one another in the sight of God and the scripture can be overwhelming.

And that is why Stuart Briscoe, a wise old pastor said, "Every pastor needs to have the mind of a scholar, the heart of a child and the height of a rhinoceros".  Moses hasn't developed that but he will eventually.  Verse 22 so Moses returned to the Lord, ah, that's good it's a good sign.  One of his secrets is that Moses even though he'll complain takes it to the Lord, goes back to the Lord, returns to the Lord and the word indicates something he did on a repeated basis, he would go back to the Lord.  And said, "Lord why have you brought trouble on this people, why is it you have sent me?"  Two questions, "why are you hurting your people and why did you pick me to help you hurt your people"?

"I don't like this job this is a crummy job description, for since I came to pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, neither have you delivered your people at all".  You can understand it; Moses would be a bit confused.  Okay let's see a bush talked to me and then this cool crazy signs happen I threw my rod down and became a snake, I picked it up and turn into a rod again.  I put my hand in my breast it turned into a leper's hand, I put it back it was cleansed.  So I got God's promise, I got signs and I got a bush talking to me.

So it's pretty obvious that God has called me, yet when I do what God says it backfires.  So what's up with that?  There seems to be in Moses' mind a discrepancy between what God promised and what has actually happened.  Moses' mistake, listen carefully, is in presuming how and when God would fulfill his promise, how and when God will fulfill his promise.  It seems that Moses expected this is going to be a cake walk, I'm going to go in, give one little speech, it's done.  Is that what God told him?  No, no, no.  Listen to what God told him, we read it last week, at the burning bush in Chapter 3, "But I am sure," God said, "But I am sure the king of Egypt will not let you go.  No, not even by a mighty hand and so I will stretch out my hand with wonders and signs and after that he will let you go."

The wonders and signs won't happen until starting with next chapter.  So God told Moses, "Okay, you're going to go, you're going to talk to Pharaoh and he's going to listen to you.  Your little cool speech won't work at first.  He's going to harden his heart, I'm going to confirm that hardening, and stiffen really tight so I can pop him really good.  And then I'm going to do miraculous signs so unmistakably I'm going to answer his yearning when he said, "Who is the Lord?" I want to answer that question for him and I'm going to do it with mighty signs and wonders."  Moses didn't remember that part of the conversation from the Lord.  Can I just suggest that when you read the Bible, read the fine print in the contract.  Read every word, read the tenses, exactly what God says in the promise and how He said it.

Now Chapter 6 – 15 minutes to do 6.  God answers this discouraging, discouraged leader.  The Lord said to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand," that's the language at the Burning Bush, "for with a strong hand he will let them go and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land."  God spoke to Moses and said, "I am the LORD."  Now you notice the word Lord has all capital letters in it?  Does it have it in your Bible?  When you read that, L, capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, it's the Hebrew word as I've been saying 'Yahweh', the covenant name of God, "I am that I am."

Why does God tell Moses his name again?  Do you think Moses forgot it?  Is he like reintroducing himself to Moses?  No, he's simply saying, "I am going to fulfill the promise that I made and the promise is based upon my character and my ability, I am, I am that I am.  I'm the becoming one, the eternal one, from beginning to end.  What I'm going to do is based upon my name, so I give you my name and my word, my name is my bond.  It's tantamount to God taking the check and signing his name to it and if you see that name on the check you know he's good for it.  God can do anything, don't worry about it, signs and wonders are coming, "I am the Lord, Yahweh."
Verse 3, "I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob as God almighty, El Shaddai.  But my name, Lord, Hebrew, Yahweh or Yahvey was not known.  I was not known to them.

I have also established my covenant with them to give them the land Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage in which they were strangers, and I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, I have remembered my covenant."  Allow me to unpack those verses for you.  First of all, we have lost the pronunciation of the term capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D.  It's convenient for us because we read it as Lord but we don't know what the original pronunciation of the name 'I am' or 'God was'.  What we are left with, as I mentioned last week, is a four consonant word called the Tetragrammaton.  I'm going to show you a slide up on the screen and we'll go from there.  Okay, can you see that up there?  The Tetragrammaton, four lettered name.

Now, on the left word it says 'Hebrew', those are the four letters Yod, Hey, Vav, Hey.  That's we were left with.  As time went on, a group of Old Testament scholars who translated the Old Testament between the 7th and the 11th century called Masoretes, they gave us the Masoretic Text, decided to take the consonants of Yahweh and the vowels of Adonai and combined them.  So that when the Hebrews would see that construction they wouldn't say anything, they would pass on as to respect the name of the Lord or they would just say Adonai and not this term.

But the overwhelming opinion of the scholars is that the name of God was originally pronounced 'Yahvey' or 'Yahweh'.  That's their opinion.  And one of the evidences of that is we have a shortened form four times in the Old Testament, one is Psalms, three times in Isaiah, the shortened form called 'Yah'.  Have you seen that in your Bible when you Psalms or especially Isaiah, "Yah", 'Yah the Lord'.  That's the beginning part or the contraction of the name of God 'Yahweh'.  So that's why you'll hear me say the name 'Yahweh' when I come to Lord or 'Yahvey', however you want to pronounce it.  That's what most people believe it is pronounced.

Okay, here's what the Lord says here, "They didn't know that name before.  They knew me as God almighty, El Shaddai."  That's how God appears to Abraham in Genesis Chapter 17.  When he established his covenant he says, "I am almighty God," Genesis 17, "walk before me and be blameless."  I don't want you misunderstand however, the patriarchs had heard the name Yahweh, they heard that name.  Genesis 4 is the first time we find it.  It says, "Men began to call on the name of the Lord or Yahweh."  So they knew the name but mostly they knew God as 'El Shaddai', the mighty, the almighty God and that's what they refer to him as.

They heard of Yahweh but the name El Shaddai was more familiar to them.  And what God is saying is the relationship I had with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was based upon my name 'El Shaddai', the almighty God.  Now I'm introducing myself as 'I am that I am' and the covenant that I make with Moses in the law is based upon that name.  That's what this is spelled out, that's what it means.  Verse 6, "Therefore, say to the children of Israel I am Yahweh, I am the Lord.  I will bring you out from under the burden of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage and I will redeem."  The word redeem is Gaal.  Gaal, does that sound familiar?  Have you ever heard of Goel?  The Kinsman Redeemer, when we get to the book of Ruth, Goel, the Kinsman Redeemer is the one who Gaal redeems.

That's going to become a type of Christ.  God is saying, "I am the Kinsman Redeemer," the Goel will Gaal, redeem, buyback his people, "with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.  I will take you as my people.  I will be your God and you will know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burden of the Egyptians and I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and I will give it to you as a heritage, I am the Lord."  Now I counted seven, 'I will' statements, I will, I will, I will, I will.  Look at this as the seven 'I wills' of redemption.  Redemption is what God will do, not what you can do.  That's the emphasis of redemption.

The emphasis of redemption isn't what you can do, it's what God does.  Whenever you reverse that, you get no peace in your life.  Some of you are struggling because it's all about you.  "I haven't done this lately, I haven't done that lately, I've got to work harder so God will love me more."  Some of you have that mindset.  As long as you believe that, you will never have peace.  When Paul writes Romans 5, he says "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with our Lord Jesus Christ."  Peace comes as a result from being called, declared just before God, holy and righteous before God based upon not what you did but what Christ did for you.

And when you believe that, you rest.  That's why when Paul opens up his letters in the New Testament he never reverses the order.  He says, "Grace unto you and peace."  Grace always precedes peace because you'll never know the peace of God until you understand the grace of God.  That's the order of redemption.  So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel.  But they did not heed Moses because of the anguish of spirit and the cruel bondage.  When you have a broken, crushed spirit it's hard to receive truth.  That's just the way it is.  That's why when people are broken-hearted over the loss of somebody because of death, the statements, if any are made, must be short and to the heart and affirming and confirming but not a long speech.

And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, "Go in, tell Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to let the children of Israel go out of his land," and Moses spoke before the Lord saying, "The children of Israel have not heeded me, how then shall Pharaoh heed me?"  Could you get his drift?  "Hey look, these people should be easy, they're your people, they won't listen to me."  It's like the pastor going, "God, you want me to witness to unbelievers?  My own church won't listen to me.  How I am going go face the unbelieving world?  If these people won't listen to me, how will those people listen to me?  How will Pharaoh listen to me?  For I am of uncircumcised lips," that excused again, "I'm a stutterer, I'm a stammer, I didn't major in speech."

Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a command for the children of Israel and for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.  Now, beginning in Verse 14 down to Verse 27 is a genealogy so we made it, we're going to finish tonight.  A genealogy, it's a partial genealogy of Simeon -- of Rueben, Simeon and Levi.  There's a bunch of names on it, we're not going to cover them all.  Now you might be asking the question, if not you should be asking this question, why is a genealogy plopped right in this narrative?  I mean, what possible comfort could this be to anybody reading this through when the children of Israel are in bondage and so far things haven't worked out before Pharaoh but God still promises – "Oh, and by the way, here's a bunch of names."

[Laughter]

Well, it's because God wants the readers to know that Moses and Aaron were selected and perfect for the job and so as a reminder of that, the genealogy that leads to those two is included here.  A couple of other tribes are also included.  Here's the idea, God had it all planned out that this exodus would take place, he so knew it in advance that he let Jacob and his sons get into the land of Egypt under Joseph and prosper during that time so that eventually when life got hard a kid named Moses, who would be raised the courts of Pharaoh, would be the perfect one to lead them out.  So the most important part of the genealogy is Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Levi, he's mentioned, Kohath, one of the sons of Levi and Amram, the father of Moses and Aaron.

So those are the highlighted names as the genealogy goes from Abraham all the way down to Moses as God's chosen deliverer.  So any reader would go, "Okay, what I understand now is God has a plan that he has foreseen all the way back."  That's the idea of the genealogy here.  By the way, though we may not be good at our genealogies, unless you have a computer program and you go to genealogy.com and you trace your family tree, in the olden days, did you know that tribal peoples like the children of Israel memorized their family tree?  And do you know that today if you went into a Bedouin tent in the Middle East, the average Bedouin can spend over an hour telling you by memory all the names, all the way back generations after -- they go on for about an hour giving you their whole family history.

So important to them, they're taught to memorize it from an early age so they have a rootedness(ph) and their identity very, very important to them.  These are the heads of their father's house, a bunch of names are given.  The name I want you to look at is in Verse 16, these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generation and of course they made the genes.  Gershon, that one right over your heads, Levi Genes get it?  Okay, Gershon, Kohath, Merari.  The middle name, see it, Kohath?  That is the father of Amram, who is the father of Moses, so this genealogy is given.  Now these three sons of Levi, just look at them because later on there going to become very important when the tabernacle is set up and taken down.  These are the three guys who will be in charge of it.

And the sons of Gershon were, they're all given in Verse 20.  Amram took for himself Jochebed, that's the mother of Moses and his father's sister's wife and she bore him Aaron and Moses.  And the years of the life of Amram were 137 etcetera, etcetera.  Verse 26, these are the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, "Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies."  These are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt.  These are the same Moses and Aaron and it came to pass on the day that the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt.

The Lord spoke to Moses saying, "I am the Lord.  Speak to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, all that I say to you."  But Moses said before the Lord, now his giving this piece of information again, "Behold, I'm of uncircumcised lips.  How shall the Pharaoh heed me?"  What strikes me as very interesting is the author of this is who?  Moses.  So Moses is obviously not to shy about confessing his faults.  So rather than jumping in and going, "What a lame dude, keeps bringing this up again?"  He's writing this and he's being very confessional about how inadequate he always felt for God to use him in such a mighty way.  And he has this excuse and yet he is called to be God's spokesperson.

So here's the summation and the set up for next week.  Aaron and Moses went to Pharaoh, were very nice and polite, "Please let us go."  That didn't work out so now the confrontation begins.  In Chapter 7 of next week, you're going to see signs and wonders where God is going to judge Egypt and principally aim his judgment at the False Gods and Goddesses of Egypt.  As we close tonight, I want you to meditate and go home with this.  Moses saw himself as inadequate.  He told that to the Lord, of course it was an excuse and the basic bottom line is "Send somebody else.  I don't want to do it."  But God did use him and God was committed to using somebody as inadequate as Moses.  So when I read that and I hope when you read that, you're able to say, "Okay Lord, I'm getting the picture, I'm getting the idea.  It's not about what I can't do.  It's about who you are and what you can do.  It's not about what I am not.  It's about who you are."

Isn't that right?  Doesn't God keep saying, "I am, I am."  "But I can't."  "But I am."  "Yeah, but--" "But I am."  So whatever little do you think you have in terms of talent or giftedness, if you would place that in Gods hands.  You know what the Lord loves to do in just a little bit?  He likes to break it and multiply it like five loaves and two fish.  What are they among so many?  You know what Jesus was thinking?  Well, put them in my hands and let see what they are among so medley, clip, clip, clip, clip, break spread it around and it feeds a multitude.  God will take the little that you have, you put it in his hands, let him touch it, let him break it, let him break you, let him multiply that, and let him feed people and let him minister to people through you.

So you come just as you are like the famous song that is sung of the end every Billy Graham crusade, "Just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me and that thou bidst me come to thee, oh lamp of God, I come, I come."  Whether you come to God in salvation or you come as a servant wanting to be used.  Watch what God will do through your life this week.

Heavenly father, as we close, I believe that's the challenge you want us to walk away with.  We might be used in showing your love and showing your compassion and demonstrating your mercy.  Some of us, Lord, are struggling with some very difficult times economically or physically or emotionally.  Lord, we're wondering like Moses did.  Lord, what's up with that?  You've given all these promises to me and yet things aren't working out?  But Lord, if we can get our hearts around the sovereign character of a loving God who says, "I am, I am."  It's not what you can't do, it's not what you can see or not see, it's who I am.  And if you would rest in that it would a soft pillow for a tired heart.  I pray for all of these, your people, I thank you for such hungry hearts in the midst of cold weather.  And for all of those who are tuning in online as well.  But would you minister to them and would you minister through them this week?  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Additional Messages in this Series

Show expand

 
Date Title   Watch Listen Notes Share Save Buy
1/12/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 1
Exodus 1
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The Lord has the pages of history and the plans for our lives in His sovereign control. Through blessings and hardships, His Word is true and His promises sure. Join us as we launch the interactive expound Bible study, with a look at Exodus chapter one, where we'll examine the people, their prosperity, and the pharaoh's problem.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
1/19/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 2
Exodus 2
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
What legacy will you leave when you pass into eternity? How will your faith influence those who come after you? As we consider the life of Moses from his birth to his banishment, we witness the providential hand of God and the impact of his parents' wholehearted faith.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
1/26/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 3-4
Exodus 3-4
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
When God calls you, how do you respond? Do you make excuses--running in the opposite direction? In this study from the book of Exodus, we see the Lord present Moses' calling on a silver platter. As we examine his encounter at the burning bush, let's explore five common excuses for disobeying God's will.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
2/9/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 7
Exodus 7
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
After 400 years in bondage, the LORD is about to deliver His people out of Egypt. In dramatic fashion, He targets the false gods of Egypt and reveals Who is boss. As we examine the first plague, we'll see the water of the Nile turned into blood: a sign of judgment to the Egyptians--a sign of deliverance to Israel.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
2/16/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 8
Exodus 8
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Frogs, lice, and flies--Egypt endures further hardship as Pharaoh refuses to heed the Lord's command to let His people go. We'll discover how each of these plagues brings a false Egyptian deity into the scope of God's judgment, and examine the condition of our own hearts to God's Word.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
2/23/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 9
Exodus 9
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Through a series of ten plagues, the LORD reveals to Egypt both His person and His power. As we examine the plagues of diseased livestock, boils, and hail, we see the LORD specifically target the lifestyle of Egypt as He again takes aim at the gods in their pantheon. Join us in our study of Exodus 9, where God hardens Pharaoh's heart for the first time--and we weigh the conditions of our own hearts as well.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
3/2/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 10-11
Exodus 10-11
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
As we study the ten plagues on Egypt, we see not only a preview of future judgment in the tribulation, but also a picture of the believer's standing before God. Let's examine the plagues of locusts and darkness and hear God's warning of the ultimate plague--the death of the firstborn. We'll learn how the Lord targets the false worship systems of this world, and sets His children apart from condemnation.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
3/9/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 12
Exodus 12
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
After nine previous plagues, the LORD ensured the deliverance of His people in the plague of the death of the firstborn. Before the Angel of the LORD visited Egypt, God provided a way of escape for His people, and the Passover was instituted. Let's take a careful look at this commemoration of Israel's deliverance and learn how Passover predicted our own deliverance as well.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
3/16/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 13-14
Exodus 13-14
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Emancipation -- to free from bondage, oppression or restraint; to liberate. In Exodus 13-14, a portrait of deliverance is painted; as God's people were set free from bondage in Egypt, so we are redeemed in Jesus Christ. Let's look closely to gain a greater understanding of our freedom from sin and our new life in Him.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
3/23/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 15
Exodus 15
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
When the children of Israel were delivered from bondage in Egypt and their enemies were destroyed, they responded with songs of praise. As we review Exodus 15, we'll consider the songs of Moses and Miriam and learn some important characteristics of true worship.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
4/6/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 16
Exodus 16
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
At first, the children of Israel celebrated their deliverance--but then they looked back to Egypt. In the midst of their grumbling, the Lord showered them with grace and rained manna from heaven. As we examine Exodus 16, we learn more about God's faithfulness and discover some interesting parallels between that bread from heaven and the true Bread from heaven: Jesus Christ.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
4/13/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 17-18
Exodus 17-18
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The children of Israel were on a 40-year road trip, but in spite of God's gracious provision and protection, they were never satisfied! In Exodus 17-18, they encounter two road hazards: confrontation and disorganization. As we travel life's path, bumps in the road are inevitable; this passage reminds us that when there is no way, God can make a way.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
4/27/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 19:1-20:7
Exodus 19:1-20:7
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
In Exodus 19-20, the children of Israel prepared themselves for a new conditional relationship with God and the Mosaic covenant was introduced. When we examine their preparations, we gain a greater understanding of the purpose of the Law and the function of the Ten Commandments in the lives of Christians.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
5/4/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 20:8-21:36
Exodus 20:8-21:36
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
In this study from Exodus 20, we take a look at the Ten Commandments and the precepts of the Law. We'll learn to apply these teachings to our daily living and gain a greater understanding of its role in pointing us to salvation through Jesus Christ.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
5/11/2011
completed
resume  
Will the Real Exodus Pharaoh Please Stand Up?
Dr. Steven Collins
Info
Message Summary
In this message, Dr. Collins explains that the Bible is trustworthy, even in matters of history. Using logic, historical analysis, and a firm belief in the historical reliability of the biblical narrative, he demonstrates why he believes Tuthmosis IV was the Pharaoh at the time of Israel's deliverance from bondage in Egypt.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
5/18/2011
completed
resume  
A Legal Defense of the Biblical Gospel in an Age of Secularism
Craig Parton
Info
Message Summary
In this message from Craig Parton, we consider the topic of apologetics. We'll explore the history and value of lawyers' defense of Christianity, dealing with objections to the faith, what apologetics is and is not, and why and how all believers are called to defend the faith.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
5/25/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 21
Exodus 21
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
As we turn our attention to the precepts of God's Law, we remember that it serves as a tutor leading us to Christ. Let's consider how God's Law applies to our lives, remembering we cannot have a relationship with the Lord based upon the Law--only upon redemption through Jesus Christ.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
6/1/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 22:1-23:14
Exodus 22:1-23:14
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
While God's Law can never make us righteous, it does reveal God's standard, providing a gauge of just how bad we are and pointing us to the Savior. Let's take a look at more particulars of the Law in this study of Exodus 22-23. We'll consider both God's great care for us and the choice He provides: to obey or to disobey.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
6/8/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 23:14-24:18
Exodus 23:14-24:18
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
In this study from Exodus 23-24, we discover some interesting parallels between Israel and the church. We'll consider three Jewish feasts, the Promised Land, and the covenant relationship between God and his people through a mediator.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
6/15/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 25
Exodus 25
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The book of Hebrews calls the tabernacle "a copy and shadow of the heavenly things" (Hebrews 8:5). As we look carefully at each article included in the tabernacle and consider the detail of God's instruction, we discover a beautiful picture of Christ.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
6/22/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 26-27
Exodus 26-27
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Jesus is our great High Priest, who makes a way for those who follow Him to have fellowship with the Father. As we examine the details of the tabernacle recorded in Exodus 26-27, we'll see shadows of heaven and of Christ Himself, and come to appreciate Jesus even more.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
6/29/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 28-29
Exodus 28-29
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
In Exodus 28-29, we learn about the calling, ordination, and consecration of the Old Testament priests. As we study the preparations and details, we consider our calling as a royal priesthood, and remember our freedom in the Lord must be balanced with submission to Him.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
7/6/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 30-31
Exodus 30-31
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
It is easier for us to grasp and remember what we see and experience. For example, if you watch a chef on television prepare a cake, or better yet if you actually get out the ingredients, bake it yourself, and eat it, you have a greater appreciation for the food than if you just read a recipe. The tabernacle is God's picture of Christ, His ministry, and our home in heaven. Let's continue our careful study of Exodus, beginning in chapter 30, and uncover the significant truths revealed in the furnishings of the tabernacle.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
7/13/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 32:1-29
Exodus 32:1-29
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The Lord revealed His tender care and awesome power to the children of Israel--yet in just forty days they became disconnected from Him. As Moses communed intimately with God on the mountaintop at Sinai, the people attempted to worship Him in the wrong manner on the valley floor. As we examine Exodus 32, let's consider their sin and how it was dealt with.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
7/20/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 32:30-33:23
Exodus 32:30-33:23
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
As Moses stood on Mt. Sinai receiving a revelation from God, the people in the valley engaged in revelry and pagan worship. In the aftermath of their sin, we peek into Moses' prayer life: his intercession for the people and his hunger for the Lord.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
7/27/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 34
Exodus 34
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
In Exodus 34, God's covenant with Israel is reestablished. Moses returned to the top of Mount Sinai, again received the Ten Commandments, and God's choice, presence, greatness, and power are confirmed.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
8/3/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 35-37
Exodus 35-37
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
In these chapters, we see God's people walking in obedience to what the Lord had commanded them--the people used their resources and talents to honor Him. A free will offering is collected, the construction of the Tabernacle begins, and the vessels, oil, and incense are made. Let's learn from their example how we too can be joyful givers and obedient followers.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
8/10/2011
completed
resume  
Exodus 38-40
Exodus 38-40
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
In Exodus 38-40, the construction of the tabernacle is completed by the craftsmen, presented to Moses, set up, and dedicated to the LORD. Israel had been delivered from bondage in Egypt, and God had become the center of their lives.
Message Trailer
WatchClosed Captioned
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Listen in Spanish
Detailed Notes
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Spanish (MP3)
Buy CD
There are 28 additional messages in this series.
© Copyright 2024 Connection Communications | 1-800-922-1888