¡§I¡¦M OBEYING GOD¡K FOR THE MOST PART!¡¨
Exodus 4:19-24
INTRODUCTION: Moses had been called by God to carry out the deliverance of God¡¦s people from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. Moses hearing God¡¦s call obediently follows the directions of God and sets out for Egypt with his wife, Zipporah and their two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. In route to Egypt stops at what is known as a Khan, or caravansary ¡V unfurnished buildings open to all travelers providing them with shelter free of charge, the traveler being responsible for his own food and other necessities. While at this stopover, God met with Moses and according to Exodus 4:24 God ¡§sought to kill him.¡¨ Why would God seek to end the life of the man that He commissioned to lead the people out of Egypt before he could carry out that mission? To understand the situation we need to look at these opening chapters of Exodus and see Moses¡¦ Commission, Moses¡¦ Obedience, and Moses¡¦ Disobedience. You see, Moses, like many of us, was obeying God. That is he was obeying God for the most part.
I. Moses¡¦ Great Commission
A. His call ¡V to be an Ambassador to Pharaoh and a Leader to Israel
„h Exodus 3:10 "Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that you may bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt."
„h Exodus 4:21-23 "And the LORD said unto Moses, When you go to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. [22] And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: [23] And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn."
B. His credentials
1. A Rod - Exodus 4:2-4 "And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said A rod. [3] And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. [4] And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:"
2. A Hand - Exodus 4:6-7 "And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. [7] And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh."
3. Water - Exodus 4:9 "And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land."
C. His message
„h Exodus 4:22-23 "And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: [23] And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn."
II. Moses Obedience
A. Moses obeyed the direct command of God
B. Exodus 4:18-20 "And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace. [19] And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life. [20] And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand."
C. He did not tarry but went to his father-in-law but set out to move to Egypt, taking his family with him.
D. Obedience means marching right on whether we feel like it or not. ¡V Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899)
E. Delayed obedience is disobedience.
F. The Christian who claims the promises of God should also obey the commands of God.
III. Moses¡¦ Disobedience
A. Exodus 4:24 "And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him."
B. Moses had recently had the ¡§burning bush¡¨ encounter with God, was commissioned and empowered by God. He was now unquestionably obeying God returning to Egypt to proclaim the message that God had given him. God visits him at a stopover during the journey with His chastening hand with such severity that God was about to take the life of Moses. Why?
C. Verses 25-26 provide the answer "Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. [26] So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision."
D. Moses was obeying God for the most part ¡V but not completely.
E. To Israelites the circumcision of male children on the eighth day was a practical duty resting clearly upon the command of God to Abraham and his descendants.
F. Genesis 17:10-14 "This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. [11] And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. [12] And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. [13] He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. [14] And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant."
G. Moses, in deference to the wishes of his Midianitish wife, Zipporah, who disliked the custom, allowed his infant son Eliezer, to remain uncircumcised
H. Moses probably thought this was just a little matter. In fact he may have hardly recognized this as any sin at all.
I. Based on his wife¡¦s actions and statement, ¡§You are a husband of blood to me¡¨, she objected to circumcision and caused so much strife that Moses gave in to her. To keep peace he acquiesced.
J. Circumcision was the sign of the covenant between God and man. It said that a man was a follower of God and that he would commit his family to be followers of God. It was a clear command of God.
K. In yielding to Zipporah¡¦s wishes, Moses was guilty of
1. Breaking the covenant with God
2. Inconsistency having circumcised one son and leaving the other uncircumcised.
3. Putting his wife and her objections before God.
IV. Divine Principles
A. God does not trifle with sin.
1. Never think that Jesus commanded a trifle, nor dare to trifle with anything he has commanded. - Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899)
a. Teachers of obedience must themselves be obedient.
2. Psalms 5:4 "For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee."
3. The cost of obedience is nothing compared with the cost of disobedience.
4. Ezekiel 18:4 "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sins, it shall die."
5. Do not make the mistake that Saul made in believing that, ¡§If I do good in one area, then God will overlook my evil in another area.¡¨ Saul seemed to think that since he making offerings and sacrifices to God, God should overlook his disobedience.
6. 1 Samuel 15:22 "And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams."
B. God will resist the inconsistent worker.
1. The Problem of inconsistency.
a. How could Moses lead the people unless he followed God?
b. How could he teach covenant without following the covenant?
c. How could he ask the people to obey God and disobey himself?
d. Teachers of obedience must themselves be obedient. The law giver must himself obey the law.
2. Isaiah 59:2 "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."
3. If you desire Christ for a perpetual guest, give him all the keys of your heart; let not one cabinet be locked up from him; give him the range of every room and the key of every chamber. ¡V Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)
4. Jeremiah 5:25 "Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withheld good things from you."
5. Your obedience to God today determines what you’ll be for God tomorrow.
C. If God is God over us, we must yield him universal obedience in all things. He must not be over us in one thing and under us in another, but he must be over us in everything.
D. True spirituality is not judged by what we do but by our obedience to him.
CONCLUSION: Moses was obeying God. Obeying for the most part. God will only allow Moses to escape His chastening hand when Moses¡¦ family was in compliance with God¡¦s will. Note Exodus 4:25-26 "Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. [26] So He (God) let him (Moses) go¡K.¡¨ In Exodus 19:5 God told Israel "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:" That same promise holds true to you and me. If we obey God not just for the most part but all the way.
