1 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:18,000 It was in June 2024 that we finished our series in the book, 2 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:20,400 that first book of the Bible, Genesis. 3 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:23,760 Genesis, of course, meaning in the beginning. 4 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:30,240 And that whole account took us through creation, to the fall, to 5 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:35,320 the flood and the promises to Abraham of a great nation and of 6 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:36,960 a land in which they would live. 7 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:42,640 And at the end of the book, we see the people then living in Egypt, 8 00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:47,200 having been saved from famine by God's providence in placing Joseph 9 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:48,720 in the land of Pharaoh. 10 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:52,800 And it would be fair enough to think, well, whenever we look at. 11 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:56,770 Whenever we look at the story of God's people in Genesis, we see 12 00:00:56,770 --> 00:01:02,050 the covenant promises of God, the covenant of works with Adam. 13 00:01:02,690 --> 00:01:07,970 Then we see the covenant of grace with Noah, and then we have 14 00:01:08,050 --> 00:01:14,570 the covenant of salvation with Abraham, of a people of God, a people 15 00:01:14,570 --> 00:01:17,810 that continues today as we know the church, and the fulfillment 16 00:01:17,810 --> 00:01:23,000 and the continuation of that covenant promise of the nations coming 17 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:24,240 to know God. 18 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:28,200 And so now that we talk about Egypt, and very much the image on 19 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:31,920 the screen is there for you to remind you that we see these tourist 20 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:32,920 attractions today. 21 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:36,160 But these pyramids would have been around at the time in which 22 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:36,720 we're talking. 23 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:41,760 This is not just something that we think, oh, it happened way, 24 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:42,520 way back then. 25 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:46,760 We can still walk in the footsteps of God's people, particularly 26 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:50,160 whenever they were enslaved into the building works of Egypt, 27 00:01:50,310 --> 00:01:52,300 and that we still see before us today. 28 00:01:53,340 --> 00:01:57,580 Exodus doesn't take its name from the opening of the book. 29 00:01:58,300 --> 00:02:00,380 Rather, it means exit. 30 00:02:01,660 --> 00:02:04,180 And of course, we know that, because if we've ever been to an 31 00:02:04,180 --> 00:02:07,820 event with lots of people and everyone rushes out, and let me tell 32 00:02:07,820 --> 00:02:09,940 you, I've been to a church once where it felt like there was 33 00:02:09,940 --> 00:02:13,140 a mass exodus as soon as the benediction was said, and right through 34 00:02:13,140 --> 00:02:15,740 the door, they rushed, and within 10 seconds, it was almost 35 00:02:15,740 --> 00:02:16,620 like a fire drill. 36 00:02:16,950 --> 00:02:18,070 No one was left in the building. 37 00:02:18,790 --> 00:02:19,710 We know that saying. 38 00:02:19,710 --> 00:02:21,270 It was like a mass exodus. 39 00:02:21,270 --> 00:02:23,110 Everyone just exited. 40 00:02:24,310 --> 00:02:30,750 Well, as we go through Exodus, yes, it is an exit, but it's an exit 41 00:02:30,750 --> 00:02:32,310 from Egypt for a purpose. 42 00:02:33,190 --> 00:02:35,910 It's an exit from Egypt to be saved. 43 00:02:37,430 --> 00:02:41,830 That's why the series is entitled Saved for the Glory of God. 44 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:45,800 And so not only do we see God's salvation in this book, but 45 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:46,960 we see his glory. 46 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:51,040 And in fact, a verse that we'll come to look at in chapter 47 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:54,280 14 is the key verse of understanding what Exodus is all 48 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:54,560 about. 49 00:02:55,200 --> 00:03:01,040 Because time and again, we see the glory of God displayed to the 50 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:06,880 world and every chance given that they would turn and worship 51 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:07,200 him. 52 00:03:09,290 --> 00:03:15,130 So this idea of Exodus, this exit this departure from the land, 53 00:03:15,130 --> 00:03:19,050 it's not actually until chapter 19 that we get to see in 54 00:03:19,050 --> 00:03:22,690 the original Hebrew, then translated into the Greek, the word 55 00:03:22,690 --> 00:03:23,450 Exodus. 56 00:03:23,849 --> 00:03:27,290 Because there in verse one of chapter 19, in the third month after 57 00:03:27,290 --> 00:03:33,050 the Israelites left after the Exodus, Egypt, on that very day, 58 00:03:33,970 --> 00:03:36,610 they came to the desert of Sinai. 59 00:03:36,930 --> 00:03:42,250 So in only chapter 19, halfway through the book, we get them beginning 60 00:03:42,250 --> 00:03:44,370 their wanderings through the wilderness. 61 00:03:44,930 --> 00:03:46,890 But before we get there, so much happens. 62 00:03:46,890 --> 00:03:50,450 And if you're like me, you'll remember as a child, every Easter, 63 00:03:50,690 --> 00:03:53,130 the Ten Commandments playing on television. 64 00:03:53,130 --> 00:03:56,610 Those days when we only had four channels and for three hours 65 00:03:56,610 --> 00:03:59,410 on either Easter Sunday afternoon or Monday. 66 00:03:59,410 --> 00:04:00,130 Must have been Monday. 67 00:04:00,130 --> 00:04:01,730 We weren't allowed to watch TV on a Sunday. 68 00:04:01,890 --> 00:04:03,170 So it must have been Easter Monday. 69 00:04:03,330 --> 00:04:06,670 You got to see the Ten Commandments, or you got to see Ben 70 00:04:06,670 --> 00:04:07,070 Hur. 71 00:04:07,070 --> 00:04:12,670 You got to see these great movies retelling these epic tales, 72 00:04:13,470 --> 00:04:14,590 retelling the story. 73 00:04:16,430 --> 00:04:19,790 Well, things have changed dramatically for God's people before 74 00:04:19,790 --> 00:04:21,070 we even get to this point. 75 00:04:21,470 --> 00:04:23,150 Because after Joseph died. 76 00:04:23,150 --> 00:04:27,110 Because quite literally, where we ended in Genesis 50, we simply 77 00:04:27,110 --> 00:04:28,430 pick up in Exodus 1. 78 00:04:28,990 --> 00:04:31,190 Everything changed after Joseph had died. 79 00:04:31,190 --> 00:04:34,270 They had no advocate anymore, working in the high ranks of government. 80 00:04:34,430 --> 00:04:40,570 And as the Pharaohs died, so the of Joseph and his work faded. 81 00:04:41,370 --> 00:04:45,650 People stopped telling of the great rescue from famine by this 82 00:04:45,650 --> 00:04:49,890 Hebrew who became the prime minister of the land and was respected 83 00:04:49,890 --> 00:04:50,890 by the pharaohs. 84 00:04:51,850 --> 00:04:53,050 That was gone. 85 00:04:53,690 --> 00:04:56,490 And the opening verses of chapter one remind us of the humble 86 00:04:56,490 --> 00:04:58,810 beginning of God's people in Egypt. 87 00:04:59,450 --> 00:05:02,410 The descendants of Jacob numbered 70. 88 00:05:02,730 --> 00:05:05,050 That's it, 70 in all. 89 00:05:05,610 --> 00:05:09,930 Because Joseph was already in Egypt, and he settled them in Goshen, 90 00:05:10,650 --> 00:05:13,210 the best of the land, where they could flourish. 91 00:05:13,210 --> 00:05:17,330 And flourish they did, because from just 70 people, they grew into 92 00:05:17,330 --> 00:05:19,130 a nation within Egypt. 93 00:05:19,690 --> 00:05:23,650 And verse seven tells us that they were fruitful and multiplied 94 00:05:23,650 --> 00:05:24,250 greatly. 95 00:05:24,570 --> 00:05:28,970 Yes, the Lord had blessed them, just as he promised Abraham. 96 00:05:29,370 --> 00:05:35,760 In Genesis 15:5, speaking of God, it says he took him outside 97 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:40,680 and said, look up at the heavens and count the stars, if indeed 98 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:41,840 you can count them. 99 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:46,960 Then he said to him, so shall your offspring be. 100 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:54,920 I think for a moment of Genesis and Exodus as one continuing 101 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:55,200 story. 102 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:57,600 This promise was given to a man who had no children. 103 00:05:58,250 --> 00:06:04,250 This promise was given to a man whose wife was old, who by all 104 00:06:04,330 --> 00:06:07,170 natural order were beyond childbearing. 105 00:06:07,170 --> 00:06:08,810 Yet the Lord made it possible. 106 00:06:10,570 --> 00:06:15,090 But here we are a few generations later, and there's still 107 00:06:15,090 --> 00:06:17,930 only 70 of them. 108 00:06:19,210 --> 00:06:20,490 Has God failed? 109 00:06:22,650 --> 00:06:25,450 Has God's covenant promises been let down? 110 00:06:26,590 --> 00:06:32,830 No, because as we will see in the 350 to 400 year period that moves 111 00:06:32,830 --> 00:06:36,270 from Joseph through to verse eight of chapter one. 112 00:06:36,830 --> 00:06:41,909 We see a million people being born, a million people of the Jewish 113 00:06:41,909 --> 00:06:45,070 community, the Israelite community, living in Exodus. 114 00:06:45,070 --> 00:06:49,030 And that's why the Pharaoh gets worried, because God indeed 115 00:06:49,030 --> 00:06:52,310 has been faithful to his covenant promise and the people are 116 00:06:52,310 --> 00:06:53,230 growing in number. 117 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:58,760 This 70 quite literally has multiplied, being fruitful to a million 118 00:06:58,760 --> 00:06:59,120 people. 119 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:03,200 And as we will see, this becomes an issue for the pharaohs, 120 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:05,800 particularly as we begin this study. 121 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:11,160 When I was at school, I wasn't particularly good at art. 122 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:15,080 But one subject in art that I was looking forward to was that of 123 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:15,880 photography. 124 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:18,720 You know, you didn't have to draw, you didn't have to color in. 125 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:21,040 There was a wee bit of technology in it, so it was good 126 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:21,480 for me. 127 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:24,770 But during my first three years at high school, there was a 128 00:07:24,770 --> 00:07:28,410 promise of the development of a dark room so that we could learn 129 00:07:28,410 --> 00:07:29,970 about the development of photographs. 130 00:07:30,290 --> 00:07:32,050 Well, this never materialized. 131 00:07:32,050 --> 00:07:35,850 And it was the year after I left school that a dark room was 132 00:07:35,850 --> 00:07:40,290 added with our instant photographs displayed on our camera 133 00:07:40,290 --> 00:07:40,690 screens. 134 00:07:40,690 --> 00:07:44,170 Perhaps we've forgotten how photographs have been developed for 135 00:07:44,170 --> 00:07:44,810 over 100 years. 136 00:07:44,810 --> 00:07:47,430 Do you remember taking your film into the chemistry? 137 00:07:47,580 --> 00:07:52,500 Having to wait a week for just 24 photos in the hope that you at 138 00:07:52,500 --> 00:07:55,660 least got one good one and it cost you 5.99, but you got a free 139 00:07:55,660 --> 00:07:55,980 film. 140 00:07:56,620 --> 00:07:57,820 That was not clever. 141 00:07:57,980 --> 00:08:00,660 So you take the photographs again and then go back and pay another 142 00:08:00,660 --> 00:08:01,580 5.99. 143 00:08:02,460 --> 00:08:04,220 We've forgotten this, haven't we? 144 00:08:04,940 --> 00:08:08,220 Because we're so used to taking not just one, but multiple 145 00:08:08,220 --> 00:08:10,620 ones on our cameras and looking at them. 146 00:08:11,820 --> 00:08:16,260 When a photographer used to develop pictures, they would take 147 00:08:16,260 --> 00:08:17,980 the film into a dark room. 148 00:08:18,780 --> 00:08:21,580 At first the photo would be completely invisible. 149 00:08:22,300 --> 00:08:25,180 It looked like nothing was there, just a blank sheet. 150 00:08:25,180 --> 00:08:29,540 But as the chemical solution spread over the paper, slowly an 151 00:08:29,540 --> 00:08:30,860 image began to appear. 152 00:08:30,860 --> 00:08:35,260 And what once was hidden in the negative all along was now becoming 153 00:08:35,740 --> 00:08:36,300 visible. 154 00:08:37,020 --> 00:08:38,300 And that's what's happening here. 155 00:08:38,300 --> 00:08:43,269 At the beginning of Exodus, God had already made his promises 156 00:08:43,269 --> 00:08:45,429 to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 157 00:08:45,429 --> 00:08:48,669 Promises of a great people, promises of a land, and promises 158 00:08:48,669 --> 00:08:50,309 of a blessing to the nations. 159 00:08:51,189 --> 00:08:54,629 But here in chapter one, those promises don't seem obvious at all. 160 00:08:55,189 --> 00:09:01,589 Instead, Israel is enslaved, Israel is oppressed, and Israel are 161 00:09:01,589 --> 00:09:04,149 groaning under Pharaoh's cruelty. 162 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:09,920 And so from a human perspective, it looks like the picture 163 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:10,800 is blank. 164 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:16,080 As though God had forgotten all about his people for over 300 165 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:16,480 years. 166 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:20,480 But in reality, his plan is in the dark room. 167 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:25,520 Slowly but surely, the image of redemption is beginning to emerge. 168 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:29,520 And by the end of Exodus, that picture will come into focus. 169 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:34,960 The God who redeems his people with mighty power, the God who dwells 170 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:40,280 among them because he is the God of covenant love. 171 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:45,880 And so as we step into Exodus 1, we're entering God's dark room 172 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:50,520 because on the surface, all that we can see is hardship and oppression, 173 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:53,960 but underneath, his promises are developing. 174 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:57,680 And this is where we come to what is the key verse of understanding 175 00:09:57,680 --> 00:09:58,360 this book. 176 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:03,750 It's in Exodus 14, verse 4, where God tells us his plan and his 177 00:10:03,750 --> 00:10:04,870 purpose of the rescue. 178 00:10:05,110 --> 00:10:08,470 Yes, he says that he will harden Pharaoh's heart and he will 179 00:10:08,470 --> 00:10:09,270 pursue them. 180 00:10:10,150 --> 00:10:15,710 He says, but I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all 181 00:10:15,710 --> 00:10:16,630 his army. 182 00:10:17,190 --> 00:10:21,110 And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. 183 00:10:22,710 --> 00:10:26,550 And so with this statement, the Israelites then did what God 184 00:10:26,550 --> 00:10:29,920 told them to do as they got ready for the Passover. 185 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:33,440 See, God is about his glory. 186 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:38,080 He wants his glory to be seen so that people will know they cannot 187 00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:40,560 look to anything else but Him. 188 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:44,520 And you know, the glory of God is displayed all around us. 189 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:48,320 The psalmist tells us the heavens declare the glory of God. 190 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:52,840 We look at our lives and although we're not perfect, if we're 191 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:57,160 living for Christ, we display something of the glory of God by 192 00:10:57,160 --> 00:10:58,680 how we are towards Him. 193 00:10:58,680 --> 00:11:00,940 Yes, we'll not always get it right. 194 00:11:00,940 --> 00:11:03,900 We will fail, we will slip, because the evil one is prowling 195 00:11:03,900 --> 00:11:06,860 round like a lion, waiting on whom he may devour. 196 00:11:08,300 --> 00:11:13,660 But we declare, and we display the glory of God, not that people 197 00:11:13,660 --> 00:11:17,060 will look to us, but they will look to him. 198 00:11:17,060 --> 00:11:21,820 And that's a huge calling for us because it means we must pay attention. 199 00:11:22,220 --> 00:11:27,150 It means we must understand what God's way is for us so that 200 00:11:27,150 --> 00:11:31,630 we can live in the light of his glory and display it to all those 201 00:11:31,950 --> 00:11:32,350 around. 202 00:11:34,350 --> 00:11:38,910 So God's purposes in Exodus are going to be revealed to his people, 203 00:11:39,550 --> 00:11:42,750 but they're also going to be revealed to the world. 204 00:11:44,110 --> 00:11:47,710 And the greatest of that is going to be 1 million people leaving 205 00:11:47,710 --> 00:11:52,070 Egypt and crossing the Red Sea, journeying to the land of covenant 206 00:11:52,070 --> 00:11:52,590 promise. 207 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:56,560 And the story begins here in Exodus with a new king. 208 00:11:56,960 --> 00:11:59,240 And there are many debates as to who this Pharaoh is. 209 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:02,000 But the best speculation that I have read in my studies for this 210 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:06,960 series is that the Pharaoh spoken of here is Amenhotep the second. 211 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:09,760 And they think this is what he looks like. 212 00:12:10,560 --> 00:12:14,480 Well, it fits in whenever you look at history of great expansive 213 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:18,640 building works undertaken, building works under which the children 214 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:20,160 of Israel were enslaved. 215 00:12:20,850 --> 00:12:24,090 So this Pharaoh, who knows nothing of Joseph sees the growing 216 00:12:24,090 --> 00:12:26,610 population of Israel as a threat. 217 00:12:27,730 --> 00:12:30,130 Look at what his main concern is in verse 10. 218 00:12:30,930 --> 00:12:33,770 The main concern is not about food to feed them, because remember, 219 00:12:33,770 --> 00:12:35,570 they're in the breadbasket, they're in Goshen. 220 00:12:35,570 --> 00:12:36,930 They have the best of the land. 221 00:12:37,170 --> 00:12:40,730 It's most likely that they are producing the land, the food from 222 00:12:40,730 --> 00:12:41,570 the land, for the nation. 223 00:12:42,210 --> 00:12:45,290 But Pharaoh says, come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they 224 00:12:45,290 --> 00:12:49,670 will become even more numerous and if war breaks out, will join 225 00:12:49,670 --> 00:12:52,830 our enemies, fight against us and leave the country. 226 00:12:53,150 --> 00:12:55,950 The Pharaoh here is worried about the enemies on the other side. 227 00:12:56,750 --> 00:12:59,630 He's questioning the loyalty of the children of Israel. 228 00:13:00,430 --> 00:13:03,110 He's questioning will they fight with us or against us. 229 00:13:03,110 --> 00:13:05,390 And of course he'll go to the negative and he'll say, well, they're 230 00:13:05,390 --> 00:13:07,550 going to fight against us, so let's sort them out now. 231 00:13:07,870 --> 00:13:11,350 And despite his military superiority, he is worried about 232 00:13:11,350 --> 00:13:12,350 getting overthrown. 233 00:13:12,750 --> 00:13:15,390 And the more foreigners, as he would call them, that there are in 234 00:13:15,390 --> 00:13:17,710 his country, the more alarmed he became. 235 00:13:18,770 --> 00:13:22,610 Soon the immigrant population grew so large that it threatened 236 00:13:22,610 --> 00:13:24,690 to destabilize his entire government. 237 00:13:25,570 --> 00:13:29,250 Pharaoh worried that the next time he was attacked, the Israelites 238 00:13:29,250 --> 00:13:31,890 would join forces with his enemies, outnumber his own army, 239 00:13:32,290 --> 00:13:35,250 and bring his dynasty to an end. 240 00:13:36,690 --> 00:13:40,410 A king who doesn't know his history, a king who doesn't know 241 00:13:40,410 --> 00:13:42,210 that this is the people that saved them. 242 00:13:43,980 --> 00:13:47,980 In our generation today, are we any different, particularly in 243 00:13:47,980 --> 00:13:53,660 what we've seen in the news of late, with people legally here being 244 00:13:53,660 --> 00:13:58,780 attacked, simply doing what people came to this island to do 245 00:13:58,860 --> 00:14:05,660 400, 600, a thousand years ago, to find a home and a land in 246 00:14:05,660 --> 00:14:06,780 which they could live at peace. 247 00:14:08,700 --> 00:14:13,680 There'll always be the pharaohs of this world who will always 248 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:20,320 be fearful rather than looking to the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, 249 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:25,360 the sole head and King of the church. 250 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:32,960 So Pharaoh is paranoid about this people group who are not his 251 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:33,840 own. 252 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:37,320 And so his solution is simple. 253 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:41,280 Just like the solution of many dictators and many pharaohs since 254 00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:45,720 enslaved the Hebrews by putting them to work in his building 255 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:46,440 projects. 256 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:49,240 Now, this would have had a twofold result. 257 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:54,160 First, there would be natural deaths due to the accidents on building 258 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:56,760 sites, thereby reducing the number of Israelite men. 259 00:14:57,560 --> 00:15:02,520 The second was that they would be too tired to produce offspring 260 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:05,880 and the numbers then would plateau before eventually reducing, 261 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:08,200 particularly in the male population. 262 00:15:09,110 --> 00:15:12,510 And so it was the meals of Israel that he was the most concerned 263 00:15:12,510 --> 00:15:12,790 about. 264 00:15:13,830 --> 00:15:15,630 But this plan didn't work. 265 00:15:15,630 --> 00:15:18,910 And the Israelites continued to grow in number because verses 266 00:15:18,910 --> 00:15:22,550 12 and 13 tell us but the more they were oppressed, the more they 267 00:15:22,550 --> 00:15:23,990 multiplied and spread. 268 00:15:24,310 --> 00:15:28,950 So the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. 269 00:15:30,470 --> 00:15:35,190 Well, the Egyptians became hard taskmasters against the Israelites 270 00:15:36,030 --> 00:15:40,790 with the word ruthlessly used in this passage twice to describe 271 00:15:40,790 --> 00:15:43,070 how the Egyptians treated the Hebrews. 272 00:15:43,950 --> 00:15:47,230 When the king saw that this tactic wasn't working, he decided 273 00:15:47,310 --> 00:15:48,910 to take a different tact. 274 00:15:49,870 --> 00:15:53,310 And so attached with his fear of military attack and the support 275 00:15:53,390 --> 00:15:56,590 that attack might be given from the Israelites, the Pharaoh 276 00:15:56,590 --> 00:16:00,910 summons the Hebrew midwives and commands them to kill every male 277 00:16:00,910 --> 00:16:02,350 born to to an Israelite. 278 00:16:02,350 --> 00:16:06,990 Now in this command, Pharaoh is pushing for genocide of Israel. 279 00:16:07,630 --> 00:16:11,550 He is a man completely ignorant of God and his promises, 280 00:16:12,430 --> 00:16:16,670 and in his ignorance sets himself up against God. 281 00:16:17,630 --> 00:16:20,910 Now, this ignorance doesn't excuse his actions. 282 00:16:21,550 --> 00:16:26,310 We now have the table set before us of this great battle between 283 00:16:26,310 --> 00:16:30,738 Pharaoh and God, a battle that is going to rage for these next 14, 284 00:16:30,842 --> 00:16:32,500 15 chapters. 285 00:16:33,700 --> 00:16:38,100 But we know what's going to happen in the end, because God will 286 00:16:38,260 --> 00:16:38,660 win. 287 00:16:39,380 --> 00:16:43,820 And we see this victory first of all in these midwives. 288 00:16:43,820 --> 00:16:46,740 Because the two midwives who receive this command, they're called 289 00:16:47,140 --> 00:16:51,620 Shiphrah and Puah, no more than Pharaoh knows. 290 00:16:52,020 --> 00:16:54,540 They knew that God is the Lord of life. 291 00:16:54,540 --> 00:16:59,410 And so they didn't do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but 292 00:16:59,410 --> 00:17:01,090 let the male children live. 293 00:17:01,330 --> 00:17:03,330 Now, this was an act of civil obedience. 294 00:17:03,890 --> 00:17:07,330 Pharaoh give the midwives a direct order and they disobeyed it. 295 00:17:07,570 --> 00:17:12,050 But this is what God's people always do when the laws of men contradict 296 00:17:12,050 --> 00:17:13,250 the laws of God. 297 00:17:13,970 --> 00:17:17,890 Our first allegiance must be to God and to him alone. 298 00:17:18,530 --> 00:17:22,032 And as Peter and the other apostles say in Acts 5 and Verse 299 00:17:22,108 --> 00:17:27,389 29, Peter and the other apostles replied, we must, must obey 300 00:17:27,389 --> 00:17:30,069 God rather than men. 301 00:17:32,069 --> 00:17:34,749 Now, there are times when Christians not only have the right, 302 00:17:34,749 --> 00:17:36,069 but also the responsibility. 303 00:17:37,749 --> 00:17:41,149 In a way, this act of civil disobedience was the start in Egypt 304 00:17:41,149 --> 00:17:45,229 of a revolution, the first beginnings of the slave revolt that 305 00:17:45,229 --> 00:17:47,109 ultimately led Israel out of Egypt. 306 00:17:47,589 --> 00:17:51,429 By refusing to follow Pharaoh's orders, these two midwives, 307 00:17:51,669 --> 00:17:55,910 Shiphrah and Puah, became the first pro life heroines. 308 00:17:56,870 --> 00:18:01,310 The reason these women had the courage to do such a splendid, beautiful 309 00:18:01,310 --> 00:18:05,910 thing is that they feared God much more than they feared Pharaoh. 310 00:18:06,710 --> 00:18:09,670 Pharaoh was the most powerful man in the world. 311 00:18:10,310 --> 00:18:13,590 With a simple wave of his hand, he could have executed them 312 00:18:13,590 --> 00:18:13,910 all. 313 00:18:14,790 --> 00:18:19,550 Yet Shiphrah and Puah dared to risk their lives because they feared 314 00:18:19,550 --> 00:18:19,990 God. 315 00:18:20,310 --> 00:18:25,930 As verse 17 tells us, they understood that obeying God is always 316 00:18:25,930 --> 00:18:27,930 the safest thing to do. 317 00:18:28,570 --> 00:18:32,650 They were acting in accordance with the command of Christ, who said, 318 00:18:33,450 --> 00:18:40,570 do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the 319 00:18:40,570 --> 00:18:44,250 soul in Matthew 10:28. 320 00:18:44,810 --> 00:18:46,570 And this is a warning to us. 321 00:18:47,130 --> 00:18:48,450 Who do we love more? 322 00:18:48,450 --> 00:18:53,030 Whenever things get tight, whenever you're actually forced to 323 00:18:53,190 --> 00:18:56,110 take a position, be it in the workplace, be it at home, or be it 324 00:18:56,110 --> 00:18:59,830 in a community gathering of some kind, of all of the things that 325 00:18:59,830 --> 00:19:02,470 are on the political agenda that we do not agree with as the 326 00:19:02,470 --> 00:19:05,350 church, because the Bible tells us so where do we fall? 327 00:19:06,629 --> 00:19:09,510 Are we going to stand on the side of what is right and true? 328 00:19:09,510 --> 00:19:13,590 Or are we going to give in to the way of the world because the 329 00:19:13,590 --> 00:19:15,350 fear of the Lord is greater? 330 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:20,040 The fear of the Lord is what we need to have so that we can stand 331 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:23,520 firm, knowing that there may be those who will kill the body, 332 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:26,640 but they will never kill the soul. 333 00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:29,920 And after all, what is the only thing that is going to pass 334 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:31,280 from this life into the next? 335 00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:35,600 It's not our arguments, it's not our positions. 336 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:38,320 It is our souls. 337 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:44,840 So here we have two midwives standing firm in the fear of the 338 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:47,480 Lord to do what is right in his eyes. 339 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:50,780 But they are actually do not go unnoticed, because Pharaoh expected 340 00:19:50,860 --> 00:19:53,420 the male population to have reduced in number. 341 00:19:53,660 --> 00:19:55,260 Instead, it remains the same. 342 00:19:55,500 --> 00:19:58,380 And so he summoned the midwives back into his presence and 343 00:19:58,380 --> 00:20:01,140 asked them why they have disobeyed his command. 344 00:20:01,140 --> 00:20:03,020 And their simple reply comes in verse 19. 345 00:20:03,340 --> 00:20:06,580 The midwives answered Pharaoh, Hebrew women are not like Egyptian 346 00:20:06,580 --> 00:20:06,860 women. 347 00:20:07,100 --> 00:20:10,780 They are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive. 348 00:20:10,940 --> 00:20:13,340 Now, I don't believe that the midwives here are telling a lie. 349 00:20:15,270 --> 00:20:18,710 We have evidence in Scripture and we've even evidence in the first 350 00:20:18,710 --> 00:20:21,590 chapter that they have a great fear of God. 351 00:20:21,830 --> 00:20:24,790 And it might be that they slowed down their response to the 352 00:20:24,790 --> 00:20:27,190 birth of Israelite women so that the birth took place. 353 00:20:27,270 --> 00:20:30,710 And they arrived just in time to support the mother and the baby. 354 00:20:31,110 --> 00:20:34,950 And what their action does is to save the male children of Israel. 355 00:20:35,190 --> 00:20:38,150 And look at how they're rewarded, not by Pharaoh, but by 356 00:20:38,150 --> 00:20:38,550 God. 357 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:41,960 So God was kind to the midwives, and the people increased 358 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:43,520 and became even more numerous. 359 00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:48,000 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families 360 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:49,040 of their own. 361 00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:52,000 Pharaoh's plans have been thwarted once again. 362 00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:56,560 The most powerful man in the world at that time cannot win against 363 00:20:56,560 --> 00:21:00,000 the covenant promises of God to make a great nation from the children 364 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:00,720 of Israel. 365 00:21:01,360 --> 00:21:05,930 So he resorts to even drastic measures, because the final verse 366 00:21:05,930 --> 00:21:09,290 in this chapter is very sobering, because it tells us just 367 00:21:09,290 --> 00:21:14,130 how evil, just how insecure, and just how Anti God, because he 368 00:21:14,130 --> 00:21:14,970 is anti life. 369 00:21:14,970 --> 00:21:17,610 That is, the Pharaoh is anti life, thereby he's anti God. 370 00:21:17,850 --> 00:21:20,210 This king is then the Pharaoh. 371 00:21:20,210 --> 00:21:23,450 Give this order to all his people, not just to the Hebrew midwives, 372 00:21:23,450 --> 00:21:24,570 but to all his people. 373 00:21:25,050 --> 00:21:29,930 Every boy that is born, you must throw into the Nile, but let 374 00:21:29,930 --> 00:21:31,940 every boy girl live. 375 00:21:33,700 --> 00:21:39,140 This is not the action of a king who seeks to serve his people 376 00:21:39,140 --> 00:21:39,540 well. 377 00:21:40,260 --> 00:21:42,020 He is serving himself. 378 00:21:42,900 --> 00:21:46,820 And it is the same story for those who do not seek the Lord for 379 00:21:46,820 --> 00:21:47,380 salvation. 380 00:21:48,260 --> 00:21:51,300 We will do anything and everything to vindicate ourselves, 381 00:21:51,620 --> 00:21:56,340 to always be right, and to think that we are our own saviors. 382 00:21:57,310 --> 00:22:02,910 But in the end, like Pharaoh, we will not win against God. 383 00:22:03,470 --> 00:22:07,870 In fact, God has made it possible for us to come to him rather 384 00:22:07,870 --> 00:22:09,230 than fight against him. 385 00:22:09,390 --> 00:22:13,150 And this is what John tells us in his first letter in chapter two 386 00:22:13,150 --> 00:22:14,430 and verses one and two. 387 00:22:14,590 --> 00:22:18,430 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. 388 00:22:18,430 --> 00:22:22,550 But if anybody does sin, well, we have one who speaks to the Father 389 00:22:22,550 --> 00:22:25,570 in our defense and Jesus Christ, the righteous one. 390 00:22:26,450 --> 00:22:31,090 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, 391 00:22:31,410 --> 00:22:34,610 but also for the sins of the whole world. 392 00:22:35,650 --> 00:22:40,450 There's no sin that can be committed that Christ's death cannot 393 00:22:40,450 --> 00:22:40,850 cover. 394 00:22:42,450 --> 00:22:44,210 So stop fighting against God. 395 00:22:44,850 --> 00:22:46,770 Stop thinking you can save yourself. 396 00:22:46,770 --> 00:22:48,450 Stop thinking you have time. 397 00:22:49,340 --> 00:22:52,700 Because the time you think you have, you're going to waste and you're 398 00:22:52,700 --> 00:22:54,060 going to be filled with regrets. 399 00:22:54,780 --> 00:22:56,620 Come to Jesus as the Savior. 400 00:22:57,020 --> 00:23:00,940 Don't be like the Pharaoh and the pharaohs of this world that continue 401 00:23:01,420 --> 00:23:03,420 to reject God and his truth. 402 00:23:04,140 --> 00:23:07,900 But come to him and know him as the only one who can rescue you. 403 00:23:07,900 --> 00:23:10,540 Because, going back to thinking of our photographs, when 404 00:23:10,540 --> 00:23:13,380 the photograph is finally lifted out of the darkroom, the image 405 00:23:13,380 --> 00:23:14,940 is clear and it's unmistakable. 406 00:23:15,540 --> 00:23:18,180 What was hidden is now visible for all to see. 407 00:23:18,580 --> 00:23:21,060 That's the way God works with his promises. 408 00:23:21,700 --> 00:23:26,500 In Exodus, the picture of redemption starts faint, but it comes 409 00:23:26,500 --> 00:23:29,060 into focus with the deliverance from Egypt, the crossing 410 00:23:29,060 --> 00:23:31,940 of the Red Sea, and God's presence with his people. 411 00:23:32,740 --> 00:23:36,540 And so for us, that picture has come fully into view. 412 00:23:36,540 --> 00:23:40,940 In Jesus Christ, what was once hinted at in shadows and even in 413 00:23:40,940 --> 00:23:45,040 Exodus, is hinted at in shadows, is now made plain to us 414 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:45,680 in Him. 415 00:23:46,160 --> 00:23:51,360 He is the Redeemer who brings us out of slavery to sin and into 416 00:23:51,360 --> 00:23:54,960 the freedom of life with God, that we may fear him more than we 417 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:55,760 fear the world. 418 00:23:56,720 --> 00:24:00,840 Not that that fear is a caring in the corner, but an understanding 419 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:04,080 of just how awesome and just how great our God is. 420 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:08,720 And so the faint images of this are seen in chapter one as God 421 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:12,870 rescues His people from death and he will continue to rescue this 422 00:24:12,870 --> 00:24:16,070 group of people whom he has called his own. 423 00:24:16,550 --> 00:24:19,990 And so we finished this chapter this morning and our response 424 00:24:19,990 --> 00:24:22,790 is to look onto Jesus for salvation today. 425 00:24:23,510 --> 00:24:26,950 Because Jesus is our great rescuer. 426 00:24:27,190 --> 00:24:29,030 He is our great redeemer. 427 00:24:29,270 --> 00:24:33,110 And you know each and every one of us, from me standing here 428 00:24:33,110 --> 00:24:36,350 before you to you sitting in the pew, each and every one of us 429 00:24:36,350 --> 00:24:38,010 need to Christ today. 430 00:24:38,890 --> 00:24:43,890 I need him more because I need to know the love that he demonstrated 431 00:24:43,890 --> 00:24:44,890 on Calvary's cross. 432 00:24:45,050 --> 00:24:48,730 I need to know that he is the only way, the only truth and the 433 00:24:48,730 --> 00:24:50,810 only life by which I can know salvation. 434 00:24:50,890 --> 00:24:56,170 And I need to live by his standard in how I respond to you 435 00:24:56,730 --> 00:24:58,890 and to others in the society around us. 436 00:25:01,770 --> 00:25:04,970 And so I say this morning that each and every one of us here need 437 00:25:04,970 --> 00:25:09,120 Christ because you need to know the love that he demonstrated 438 00:25:09,120 --> 00:25:10,200 on Calvary's cross. 439 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:14,160 You need to know that he is the only way, the only truth and 440 00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:17,240 the only life by which we can know salvation. 441 00:25:18,360 --> 00:25:23,640 And you need to live by his standard and how you respond to one 442 00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:26,520 another and to the society around you. 443 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:32,580 You see, we need, we all need Jesus to keep us to the end when 444 00:25:32,580 --> 00:25:36,620 he will return and he will welcome those who have trusted in 445 00:25:36,620 --> 00:25:38,780 him home to heaven. 446 00:25:39,820 --> 00:25:43,580 To look onto Jesus means that we believe and live what the writer 447 00:25:43,580 --> 00:25:44,580 of Hebrews tells us. 448 00:25:44,580 --> 00:25:50,380 In chapter 12 and verses 2 and 3, let us fix our eyes on Jesus, 449 00:25:50,860 --> 00:25:55,660 the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before 450 00:25:55,660 --> 00:26:00,550 him, endured the cross scorning at shame and sat down at 451 00:26:00,550 --> 00:26:02,230 the right hand of the throne of God. 452 00:26:02,950 --> 00:26:09,870 Now consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men so 453 00:26:09,870 --> 00:26:14,230 that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 454 00:26:16,070 --> 00:26:19,550 If you've been at teaching week this week, you will know that 455 00:26:19,550 --> 00:26:22,310 we've been looking at the by faith statements. 456 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:26,840 And last Monday evening, David explained to us that whenever we 457 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:29,520 see by faith, it is an invitation to consider. 458 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:32,560 Consider who Jesus is. 459 00:26:33,120 --> 00:26:34,080 Believe in Him. 460 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:37,800 Think of who he is to you. 461 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:39,200 And that is our response this morning. 462 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:42,560 Because this is the Savior who calls us today to trust in him and 463 00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:45,520 not to become like Pharaoh and think that we are better than God 464 00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:47,440 and better than his ways. 465 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:54,320 The Savior who calls us to fix our eyes on him so that we will not 466 00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:58,280 be distracted by this world and taken down paths of sin that 467 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:00,160 ultimately lead to destruction. 468 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:04,440 The Savior who loves us even when we feel the world is against 469 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:04,800 us. 470 00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:11,520 Our response today is to trust more in him today, to fix your eyes 471 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:18,180 on him for the days that are ahead, as you know only him for your 472 00:27:18,180 --> 00:27:18,820 salvation. 473 00:27:19,780 --> 00:27:20,660 Let us pray. 474 00:27:21,860 --> 00:27:26,300 Our Father God, as we think of these words and as we see these images 475 00:27:26,300 --> 00:27:29,700 of salvation coming through in this Old Testament book, even in 476 00:27:29,700 --> 00:27:33,820 its first chapter, Father, continue to give us that focus of 477 00:27:33,820 --> 00:27:36,660 Christ, who is our only Savior, our only Redeemer, that we 478 00:27:36,660 --> 00:27:38,100 may live by his standard. 479 00:27:38,820 --> 00:27:41,900 And so, Father, may we delight in this truth, and may we live by 480 00:27:41,900 --> 00:27:42,180 it. 481 00:27:42,830 --> 00:27:46,190 And as we now approach this table, this table of great blessing, 482 00:27:46,190 --> 00:27:51,350 this table of grace, Father, may we know Christ more and be determined 483 00:27:51,350 --> 00:27:54,110 to live for him all the days that you give us. 484 00:27:54,750 --> 00:27:56,830 And we ask these things in his name alone. 485 00:27:57,390 --> 00:27:58,030 Amen.