Series: THE STORY GOD IS TELLING
Title: “Get Out!”
Text: Exodus 12:29-31
29 And it came to pass at midnight that the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock.
30 So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
31 Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, [I’m going to paraphrase the rest of this] “Get out of my sight! I don’t want to ever see you alive again.”
Introduction:
A. “GET OUT!” If you’ve lived any time at all … and I believe most of us have … we’ve probably heard these words before.
1. Hopefully they were spoken to us … and not by us.
2. Clearly Pharaoh is upset … we can understand why, and it is not without cause.
3. He is, of course, the cause.
B. It has been over four centuries since Joseph’s king invited Israel to dwell in Goshen.
1. There God’s people prospered … to the envy of the Egyptians.
2. Finally their king decided that enough was enough.
3. “Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we … in the event of war they might join our enemies and fight against us … therefore they set taskmaster over them to afflict them with their burdens.”
4. And so the guests became slaves … let that be a lesson to heed, don’t overstay your welcome.
C. Today’s message is the third is our series … THE STORY GOD IS TELLING.
1. It is the story of the Exodus … Part One.
2. From my earliest years I have loved to read of Moses and the Exodus … especially the parting of the Red Sea.
3. I think Cecil B. DeMille recreated that scene exactly as it happened … no marsh could sink 600 chariots plus cavalry and foot soldiers.
4. And I’m still awed by the resemblance of Moses and Charlton Heston … amazing!
Central Idea: Israel exodus from Egypt was wrought with adventure. Each taught God’s people a great lesson … and taken together they teach us an even greater lesson. I’m going to share four of these adventures with you … and then reveal the “greater” lesson.
I. Adventure #1 is Found in Exodus 14—Israel’s Crossing of the Red Sea.
A. The Incident …
1. Israel’s exodus from Egypt came only after a hard fought campaign between the Lord and the gods of Pharaoh.
2. Each of the infamous “Ten Plagues” marked the defeat of an Egyptian deity. Among Egypt’s gods you will find …
a. Nechebt—the serpent.
b. Apis—the bull, and Amon—the cow.
c. Horus—the god of the sky, and Ra—the god of the sun.
d. Set—the crocodile god, and the goddess Heka—a frog.
e. The Nile itself was sacred … as was Pharaoh [and the god in waiting, his first-born son].
3. The death of the king’s son was the final straw … Exodus 12:31-36.
31 Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, "Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the LORD as you have said.
32 "Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also."
33 And the Egyptians urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, "We shall all be dead."
34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders.
35 Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing.
36 And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
4. But Pharaoh’s favor didn’t last. The Lord wasn’t through with this king. So God hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he sent 600 chariots chasing after Israel.
5. They caught up with God’s people as they were encamped along the shore of the Red Sea.
6. Pharaoh believed he had Israel trapped. Moses had led them to a place between two mountain ranges … so there was no escape to the north or the south. From the west Egyptian chariots were raising great clouds of dust … and they couldn’t cross the sea to their east without boats [which they had no time to build].
7. Indeed God’s people appeared bewildered by the land. And that’s what they believed … Exodus 14:10-12.
10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD.
11 Then they said to Moses, "Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt?
12 "Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ’Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness."
8. God had no intention of that happening. We know the story …
a. The Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them.
b. The pillar gave light to Israel, and night to Egypt.
c. And then God parted the sea … and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. And they crossed the sea on dry land!
d. Pharaoh’s chariots thought they could do the same … they couldn’t!
e. As soon the last son of Israel stepped onto the distant shore the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen [Cavalry?], and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained.
B. The Lesson …
1. And so after 430 years the children of Israel’s sojourn in Egypt ended.
2. But what of Egypt’s sojourn in Israel?
3. God’s people had witnessed the defeat of Egypt’s gods … yet they still doubted their deliverance.
4. At the Red Sea we are reminded to trust God for deliverance from our enemies.
5. But what if He chooses to delivers through the enemy. Job said, “Thought He slay me, yet will I trust Him” [Job 13:15].
Transition: At the Red Sea we are taught to trust God to deliver. That’s a great lesson, but there is an even greater one we must learn.
II. Adventure #2 is Found in Exodus 32—Israel’s Worship of the Golden Calf.
A. The Incident …
1. After successfully exiting Egypt, Moses led the people to Sinai … the Mountain of God, where the Lord had spoken to him from the burning bush.
2. The journey took three months … quite an accomplishment considering the size of Israel … 600,000 men plus the ladies and the children.
3. Along the way … just to prove the point I want to make in our conclusion …
a. They murmured in the Wilderness of Shur. After going three days without water, they complained because the springs at Marah produced “Pluto” water. That’s what they call sulfur water down in Orange County. God sweetened it for them!
b. And when they complained about the menu, God sent them manna, “bread of heaven.” He also gave them water from a rock, when again they complained of thirst.
4. Now encamped at the foot of God’s holy mountain, they await the return of Moses … who has gone up to speak with the Lord.
5. And they wait, and they wait, and they wait until they can wait no more … Exodus 32:1-6.
1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."
2 And Aaron said to them, "Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me."
3 "So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.
4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!"
5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD."
6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
6. God is not pleased … He says to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.”
7. God could have done so, and still fulfilled His promise to Abraham. He would have done so, had not Moses interceded.
B. The Lesson …
1. There is an obvious lesson here … one that needs no commandment, but here it is:“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.”
2. Why? … because “I am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me.”
3. It isn’t wise to “tempt” God … there is a “point of no return” … and the sins we commit today reverberate through the years leading our children and our children’s children and even theirs down the same paths of sin.
4. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” [Hebrews 10:31].
Whatever you do, don’t make Him angry!
5. “Then [Moses] took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it” [Exodus 32:20].
6. Golden Calves are like polluted water … a cup from which you don’t want to drink.
Transition: At Sinai we are taught that only God who is worthy of our worship … He made us, not the other way around. Learn that lesson well … and it will keep us. But there is an even greater lesson we must learn.
III. Adventure #3 is Found in Numbers 14—Israel’s Refusal to Enter the Promised Land.
A. The Incident …
1. Here’s a story with which we’re familiar …
Twelve men went to spy out Canaan,
(Ten were bad, two were good)
What do you think they saw in Canaan?
(Ten were bad, two were good)
Some saw giants, big and tall!
Some saw grapes in clusters fall,
Some saw God was in it all.
(Ten were bad, two were good)
2. Israel remained in Sinai for about a year before beginning their trek to the Promised Land. Within weeks they were camped along its border.
3. But that journey was itself not without incident.
a. Some were growing tired of Manna … I suppose there weren’t that many recipes. “We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic” [Numbers 11:5].
The Lord’s righteous anger sent the complainers quail … “But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was aroused against the people, and the LORD struck the people with a very great plague” [Numbers 11:33].
b. Then there was the incident involving Aaron and Miriam.
At some point in time Moses married an Ethiopian woman. His brother and sister were not pleased. They began to think they were closer to God than Moses, and tried to convince the people they were. “So the anger of the Lord was aroused against them …” [Numbers 12:9].
I’m thinking Miriam was the instigator, for after their dressing down by God she left the Tabernacle as a leper … and remained so for seven days.
c. Both of these incidents prove the point I want to make … in my conclusion.
4. But we must first see the Lord’s anger toward his disobedient people.
a. Remember, 12 spies were sent into the Promised Land, one from each tribe. For 40 days they traveled the length and breadth of Canaan.
b. Their report, “This is truly a land flowing with milk and honey. Look at this cluster of grapes … it took two of us to carry it.”
c. But listen to the rest of their report … Numbers 13:28-33.
28 "Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there.
29 "The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan."
30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it."
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we."
32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, "The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature.
33 "There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight."
d. “So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night” [Numbers 14:1].
“If only we had died in the land of Egypt …”
“If only we had died in the wilderness …”
“Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword …?”
“Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”
“Let us select a leader and return to Egypt …”
e. Ten times they had tested God’s patience … and this was the last straw! Of all those age 20 and older, only the two good spies … Joshua and Caleb would enter the Promised Land.
f. The others would wander in the wilderness a total of 40 years … and there they would die … but not their children … they would know the land their parents had despised.
B. The Lesson …
1. There’s a lesson about obedience buried in this incident.
2. When God says, “Go!” we dare not stop. When God says, “Move!” we dare not stay. When God says, “Enter!” we dare not refuse.
3. And though it is true that Moses is not here to lead us … God’s Holy Spirit is! And when He opens the doors of opportunity His church must be ready and willing. Where God leads us we must follow!
4. But how do we know He is leading? We study His Word … we pray for His guidance … and we turn the doorknob.
5. If it opens we enter … trusting God to show us the next step and the next and the next …
6. And while we might have to lean against the door … for sometimes they stick … we do not enter what God has locked. That’s what the children of Israel attempted … Numbers 14:39-45.
39 Then Moses told these words to all the children of Israel, and the people mourned greatly.
40 And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, "Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the LORD has promised, for we have sinned!"
41 And Moses said, "Now why do you transgress the command of the LORD? For this will not succeed.
42 "Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for the LORD is not among you.
43 "For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword; because you have turned away from the LORD, the LORD will not be with you."
44 But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop; nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses departed from the camp.
45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as Hormah.
7. Here’s the lesson for Christ’s church. This is our Promised Land … Glenwood is ours to conquer … and if we do not possess it for the gospel, He will send others who will.
Transition: We must obediently enter the Promised Land. That’s a clear lesson to be learned from Numbers 14. But there is a still greater lesson!
IV. Adventure #4 is Found in Numbers 20—Moses’ Striking the Rock.
A. The Incident …
1. Almost 38 years have passed since Israel was driven away from the Promised Land.
2. The people have returned to Kadesh … and once again they are complaining.
3. There is no water … and the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying: “If only …” [there are those two little words again].
“If only we had died when our brethren died before the Lord!”
“Why have you brought [us] into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here?”
“And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place?”
4. So Moses went to speak to the Lord. God told him to speak to the rock and it would yield water … enough for all the people and their flocks.
5. But this time it was Moses patience that was wearing thin—Numbers 20:9-11.
9 So Moses took the rod from before the LORD as He commanded him.
10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, "Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?"
11 Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.
B. The Lesson …
1. OK … where’s the lesson? Are we to complain every time the throat feels a little dry? Is God ever at our “beck and call”? Of course not!
2. The lesson, then, is this … “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” [I Corinthians 10:31].
3. This is where Moses and Aaron failed … they gathered the people before the rock; and said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?”
4. “Must we?” “Must we?” “Must we?” … it sounds like “I” problems, doesn’t it?
5. “I did this …” “I’ve done that …” “I” … “I” … “I” And Moses struck the rock! Twice!!
6. Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them” [Numbers 20:12].
7. In some way Moses’ rash action assaults God’s holiness. Perhaps the rock symbolizes God’s presence. In striking the rock Moses strikes out at God.
8. Or just maybe God is upset that Moses has put himself in God’s place.
9. The lesson is clear … everything we have comes from God’s hands, not Moses’ and not our own. Even our ideas and efforts are energized by His providing providential grace. And He should receive the honor … all of it. We should acknowledge Him!
Conclusion:
A. I hope you’ve enjoyed our adventures today.
1. From Exodus 14 we’ve learned to trust God to deliver.
2. From Exodus 32 we’ve learned that only God is worthy of our worship.
3. From Numbers 14 we’ve learned obedience. And …
4. From Numbers 20 we’ve learned to honor God.
B. But these lessons … as important as they are … simply illustrate a greater lesson to be learned from the story God is telling us.
1. From these great adventures … [a] the Crossing of the Red Sea, [b] the Golden Calf, [c] the refusal to enter the Promised Land, and [d] Moses’ striking the rock …
2. And some lesser one’s … [a] the “Pluto” water, [b] the manna, [c] the quail, and [d] the incident with Aaron and Miriam …
3. How many times did we read that they wished to return to Egypt?
“It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness."
“This [Golden Calf] is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt.”
“If only we had died in the land of Egypt …”
“Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”
“Let us select a leader and return to Egypt …”
“And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place?”
4. Can I make the greater lesson any clearer than this?
“It’s easier for us to get out of Egypt than it is to get Egypt out of us.”
