Sep 21
5
New Testament Reading: Ephesians 4:1–10
“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, ‘When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.’ (In saying, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)” (Ephesians 4:1–10, ESV)
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Old Testament Reading: Exodus 3:16-4:17
“Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, ‘I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.’ Then Moses answered, ‘But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you.’ The LORD said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ He said, ‘A staff.’ And he said, ‘Throw it on the ground.’ So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. But the LORD said to Moses, ‘Put out your hand and catch it by the tail’—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— ‘that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.’ Again, the LORD said to him, ‘Put your hand inside your cloak.’ And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. Then God said, ‘Put your hand back inside your cloak.’ So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. ‘If they will not believe you,’ God said, ‘or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.’ But Moses said to the LORD, ‘Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.’ Then the LORD said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.’ But he said, ‘Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.’ Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said, ‘Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.’” (Exodus 3:16–4:17, ESV)
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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.
Introduction
In the third point of the sermon last Sunday I moved very quickly over chapter 3 verses 16 through 22, making only a passing reference to the promises that God made to Israel to deliver them, to richly provide for them, and to bring them safely into the promised land. I would like to make one more pass over that section with you this morning, moving a little slower this time, so that we might glean some more from the details of that passage.
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God’s Promises To Israel
In verses 16 through 22 of chapter 3 God gives Moses a message for the people of Israel who are in Egypt. Three promises are contained in this message.
Delivered From Egyptian Bondage
One, God promised to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage. In verse 16 we hear God say to Moses, “Go and gather the elders of Israel together…” Here we gain insight into the lives of the enslaved Israelites. Evidently, they maintained their cultural identity within Egypt as they suffered under the heavy hand of their oppressors. The Hebrews were still lead by elders. I think there is a word of encouragement here for those who are threatened with oppression. Life does not come to a halt. No, ways may be found to preserve and promote cultural identity, customs, and even the worship of God, while suffering oppression. The Hebrews must have, for there were elders, that is to say, leaders, amongst the Hebrews who could be summoned by Moses and communicated with. Also, note that the concept of rule by elders did not originate in the New Testament, but even predated the Exodus event.
Here we learn that God did not send Moses to deliver the Hebrews all alone. No, he was to work with the elders of Israel. “Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, ‘I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt…’” (Exodus 3:16-17, ESV). So here again is God’s promise concerning deliverance. God promised to bring the Hebrews “up out of the affliction of Egypt…”
Remember, this was not a brand new promise, but the fulfillment of a very old promise. God had spoken to Abraham hundreds of years earlier, saying, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions” (Genesis 15:13–14, ESV). So you can see that this was not a new promise, but the announcement that a very old promise was about to be fulfilled.
The words, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt” make it clear that God has been very aware of the suffering endured by the Hebrews and the injustices perpetrated by the Egyptians. These words signal that something will now be done about that. We are about to see judgment. We are about to see restitution. God was about to take vengeance on his enemies and comfort his people.
And please see that the promise of God to bring the Hebrews “up out of the affliction of Egypt” places special emphasis upon what the Hebrews would be delivered from.
They were enslaved to that wicked serpent, Pharaoh. They were brutally treated. They labored and toiled in this world, but they did not enjoy their labor, nor the fruits of their labor. Life on this earth was filled with vanity for them. They were enslaved in that idolatrous world. They were not free to worship and serve the LORD. That is what God promised to deliver the Hebrews from. He would deliver them from that early manifestation of Satan’s kingdom, sin, and death.
I would really encourage you, brothers and sisters, to begin (or continue) to think of Pharaoh, of Egypt, and of the bondage endured by the Hebrews as an early manifestation of the kingdom of Satan. It was an earthy picture of what bondage to sin and Satan is like. And conversely, we are to view the deliverance that God worked for Old Covenant Israel as an earthly picture of deliverance from the kingdom of Satan, from sin, and from the fear of death. The rest of the scriptures make this clear. The New Testament uses Exodus language to speak of the redemption that Christ has accomplished. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness — that is, from Satan’s cruel and oppressive kingdom — and from bondage to sin and the fear of death.
As we consider the promise of the deliverance that God communicated to Israel through Moses, let us be sure to think upon all that we have been delivered from in Christ and to rejoice.
Those who have faith in Christ have been delivered from bondage to sin.
“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:5–11, ESV).
Those who have faith in Christ have been delivered from the fear of death.
“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Hebrews 2:14–15, ESV).
Those who have faith in Christ have been delivered from the domain of darkness.
“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13–14, ESV).
Delivered Towards The Promised Land
You will notice in our text that God promised, not only to deliver the Hebrews from Egyptian bondage but to bring them to the promised land. Verse 17: “and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:17, ESV). So this is the second thing promised: God promised to deliver Israel and to bring them safely into the land.
I will not belabor this point. I think you get the picture. Israel was delivered from Egyptian bondage, and they were delivered to the promised land. In other words, they were delivered towards a destination. And this does also correspond to our salvation in Jesus the Messiah. God has delivered us “from the domain of darkness and transferred… to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13–14, ESV). This kingdom of Christ is present now. We are citizens of it. But we await its consummation in the new heavens and earth. So then, Israel’s earthy deliverance from Egypt and towards the promised land was a picture of the salvation that Christ has accomplished for his people. We have been delivered from the domain of darkness, and we are sojourning towards the promised land, the new heavens, and earth.
I have already encouraged you to reflect upon what Christ has delivered us from. Now I am saying that we must contemplate what Christ has delivered us to. Israel was set free from Egyptian bondage, and earthly speaking, their minds, and hearts were immediately to be fixed on Cannan and on their promised inheritance. Earthly speaking, their hope was to be set on that land which was promised to them — a land flowing with milk and honey. Think of how marvelous that must have seemed to those Hebrew slaves. God promised to rescue them from their terrible toil. And he would not leave them to wander landless and homeless. No, they would be given land and they would be given homes. And it would be a very good and rich land. One that they could work and reap a harvest. One that would satisfy their desires, earthly speaking. Think of how marvelously refreshing that must have sounded to those Hebrew slaves.
But our inheritance in Christ is far greater. Canaan was merely an earthy picture of the heavenly and eternal inheritance that Christ has earned for us. As 2 Peter 3:13 says, “according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13, ESV). The end of the book of Revelation provides a picture of the new heavens and earth. It is far, far better than Cannan. It is much more than a land flowing with milk and honey.
In Revelation 21 we read the words of John: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’ And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son… Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed… And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21, ESV).
Canaan was a dim and dusty picture of this. Israel was saved from bondage and lead towards Cannan. But Christ has delivered us from the domain of darkness, and he leading us towards the new heavens and earth. Our inheritance in Christ is truly marvelous.
Fix your eyes on the prize, brothers and sisters.
Think about what you have been saved to.
Delivered With A Rich Supply
So then, God promised the Hebrews deliverance from Egyptian bondage, and deliverence to the promised land. Thirdly, God promised to deliver the Hebrews with a rich supply.
Verse 19: “But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.” (Exodus 3:19–22, ESV)
God would not send the Hebrews out empty handed, but would provide for their every need.
This was a matter of justice. These Hebrews labord as slaves their whole lives. Now they would be compensated.
This was an act of judgemnet. The Egyptians ruthlessly oppressed the Hebrews, not the Lord would make them pay.
And this was a picture of our salvation in Christ. When God redeemed us from the domain of darkness, he richly supplied for our every need.
“Therefore it says, ‘When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men’” (Ephesians 4:8, ESV).
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…” (Ephesians 1:3, ESV).
Think of how richly God has blessed you in Christ.
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Moses’ Doubt
Now that we have considered God’s threefold promise to Israel, let us turn our attention to Moses’ doubt, which comes through so strongly in this passage.
We have noticed that Moses had been humbled. But now we see him bordering on lack of faith.
God’s call…
Objection (3:11): “Who am I?”
Answer: It doesnt matter who you are. What matters is that I am with you.
Objection (4:1): They will not believe me…
Answer: These signs will prove that I have sent you.
Objection (4:10): “But Moses said to the LORD, ‘Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue’” (Exodus 4:10, ESV).
Answer: “Then the LORD said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak’” (Exodus 4:11–12, ESV).
Objection (4:13): “But he said, ‘Oh, my Lord, please send someone else’” (Exodus 4:13, ESV).
Answer: “Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said, ‘Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart” (Exodus 4:14, ESV).
Moses is here portrayed as the reluctant deliverer… Here I LORD, send someone else…
All of this emphasizes the grace of God.
God uses weak and common people to accomplish his purposes so that he gets the glory..
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God’s Signs To Moses
Thirdly, let us consider the signs that God gave to Moses. To prove that God was with him, God gave him the ability to work miracles. These were signs which would confirmed the truthfulness of his words.
The Staff
“The LORD said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ He said, ‘A staff.’ And he said, ‘Throw it on the ground.’ So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. But the LORD said to Moses, ‘Put out your hand and catch it by the tail’—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— ‘that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you” (Exodus 4:2–5, ESV).
Like Moses, the staff was common.
The serpent symbolized Pharoah. The serpent is to remind us of Satan. Moses ran from it just like he was running from God’s call. But he reluctantly picked it up by the tail, signifying God’s power over Pharoah and Satan.
The Hand
“Again, the LORD said to him, ‘Put your hand inside your cloak.’ And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. Then God said, ‘Put your hand back inside your cloak.’ So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh” (Exodus 4:6–7, ESV).
God was able to keep Moses and the Hebrews, for he has the power to heal and to distroy the body.
The Blood
“‘If they will not believe you,’ God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground” (Exodus 4:8–9, ESV).
This would be the first of the ten plagues. Here we have a foretaste of the miracles that God would work before the Egyptians. Blood will play a large part in God’s dealing with Moses and with Israel, for without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
Has God really spoken? The signs would confirm, yes.
Consider these signs. Consider the miracles of Christ. Consider the resurrection.
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