Flight to Midian

• Exodus 2:11-15
• Moses tries to reconnect with his people
  • Seeks to deliver
  • Furtive
  • Unappreciated
  • Pharaoh seeks to avenge
  • Moses flees to Midian
• Exodus 2:16-22
• At the well
  • Seven daughters of Reuel (Jethro)
  • Mean shepherds – Moses helps
  • Early return
  • Duty of hospitality

God remembers His promise

• Exodus 2:23-25
• No doubt Israel had already been praying for deliverance
• Here, it is time for God to deliver as He had planned
  • Leads us to the burning bush
  • Reads Moses in on the plan

Moses and the burning bush

• Exodus 3:1-8
• The attention getter
  • Who can resist a burning bush that doesn’t burn
• God introduces Himself to Moses
  • He is holy as the ground around Him
  • Moses reacts – hides face
• This is why I am here
• This is where we are going

Who am I?

• “I will send you to Pharaoh …”
• Objections of Moses
  • Who am I
    • Seeks to minimize self
    • Who better to be the negotiator?
      • Israelite
      • Raised in Pharaoh’s household
    • Well educated
  • Former failure stifled his enthusiasm?
    • Tried to deliver
    • Rejected by his own
    • Those who had raised him sought to kill him

I AM THAT I AM

• “I Am” in its simplicity
  • Not dependent on time
  • Depends not on anyone’s ideas
  • 1st century Jews – understood
  • John 8:58; Revelation 1:8; 21:6; 22:13

God’s prediction of success

• Exodus 3:16-22
• You will inherit the Promised Land
• Pharaoh will refuse you
• I will compel him – let you go
• You will plunder Egypt as you leave

Signs for Pharaoh

• Exodus 4:1-9
• What if they won’t believe me? (Exodus 4:1)
  • Staff to serpent and back to staff (Exodus 4:2-5)
  • Hand to leprosy and back to normal (Exodus 4:6-8)
  • Water of Nile to blood (Exodus 4:9)
  • But even after all that …

God’s anger burns

• Exodus 4:10-17
• Moses – not eloquent (I Corinthians 1:17; I Corinthians 10:10)
• God – Who made your mouth?
• Moses – Send someone else!
• God -
  • Aaron your spokesman
  • I’ll put words in both of your mouths
  • I’ll direct your actions

Moses leaves Midian for Egypt

• Exodus 4:18-23
• Takes his leave from Jethro
• God informs Moses of death of Pharaoh
• God reminds Moses of the task
• Reminds Moses that Pharaoh’s heart will harden

First stop, then Aaron

• Exodus 4:24-31
• Rest stop
  • God seeks to kill Moses
  • Zipporah intervenes
• God sends Aaron
  • It’s been forty years
  • Moses reads in Aaron
  • Gathering of the elders
  • Aaron does the spokesman thing
  • They believe – for now

Get your own straw

• Exodus 5:1-23
• Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh – Let my people go
• Pharaoh – Who is he, and no
• Moses and Aaron
  • Three days’ journey for sacrifices
  • Or bad things happen
• Pharaoh
  • Back to work
  • No straw for bricks
  • Make quota

The Kingdom is coming

• Isaiah 9:1-7 – Prophecy of the coming of Jesus.
• Matthew 4:12-17
• Luke 1:31-33
• Daniel 2:31-45 – Prophecy of Babylon, Medo-Persians, Greeks, and Romans. As prophesied, Jesus came in the days of the Roman Empire.

The Kingdom is at hand.

• Matthew 3:1-2; 4:17; 6:10; 10:7; 16:18-19, 28 – The Kingdom was coming in their lifetime!
• Acts 1:6-8 – The apostles would receive power.
• Luke 24:49

Acts 2

• The apostles receive power to speak in the necessary languages and deliver the gospel.
• Acts 2:29-38
• Now people can enter Jesus’ kingdom through baptism.

The Kingdom is here now.

• Colossians 1:13-14
• Revelation 1:9 – John was partaking of the kingdom.

Why this matters

We must obey King Jesus!

• Mark 6:27 – Human kings have tremendous authority.
• Acts 12
• Matthew 16:19
• Acts 8:17
• The apostles received delegated authority.

We must honor King Jesus!

• Revelation 1:4-7, 13-18; 5:11-14; 17:14

We must thank King Jesus!

• Matthew 25:31-40
• II Timothy 4:18
• A good king rewards those who serve him. Jesus is a good king!

I Corinthians 10:1-4 – Our fathers

• I Corinthians 10:1-2 – See Exodus 13:21; 14:29; Psalms 105:38.
• I Corinthians 10:3-4 – See Deuteronomy 8:1-3. We are living on the word of God. See John 4:34.

I Corinthians 10:5-12 – Examples for us.

• I Corinthians 10:7 – See Exodus 32:4-6.
• I Corinthians 10:8 – See Numbers 25:1-9.
• I Corinthians 10:9 – See Numbers 21:4-6.
• I Corinthians 10:10 – It is not clear which specific event this is referring to. It could be referring to the general case that happened repeatedly with the Israelites or possibly to Numbers 16:41-49.

I Corinthians 10:13-14 – Temptation.

• I Corinthians 10:13-14 – God always provides a means of escape. Jesus appealed to the word of God when He was tempted. This is a comfort for our future and a conviction of our past.

I Corinthians 10:15-22 – Don’t worship idols.

• I Corinthians 10:19-20 – Paul didn’t want them to be involved with idol worship. If they joined in an idol feast, they were taking part in idol worship. There was nothing wrong with the meat itself – it was what they were doing with it that was the problem.

Introduction

• Joshua 1:9, 7-8

Show kindness to the kids who get picked on.

• Proverbs 1:11-16 – Don’t join with the evildoers!

Practice better speech.

• Proverbs 4:23; 16:27

Pray.

• Philippians 4:6-7
• I Peter 5:7

Get comfortable being different.

• I Peter 4:3
• Hebrews 11:7

Don’t make your clothes and appearance the priority.

• I Samuel 16:6-7
• Proverbs 31:30

Hang out with the most moral friends you can find.

• Proverbs 13:20

Decide what kind of person you’re going to be.

• II Chronicles 34:1-3
• Ecclesiastes 12:1

Work hard.

• Colossians 3:22-24

Be honest.

• Matthew 5:33

Show other people what Jesus is like.

• I Corinthians 11:1

Impact of Exodus, continued:

• Joshua 24:6; Judges 2:1; I Samuel 12:8; I Chronicles 17:21

God’s purpose for the Exodus:

• Exodus 5:1
• More given in Exodus 6:1-13
• Ultimate reason in Exodus 19
  • Exodus 19:3-6 – Central theme of the entire Bible
  • John 12:32 – God wants all of us to be with Him.
  • John 14:3
  • Matthew 23:37

The increase of Israel

• Exodus 1:1-7
• Sons of Israel who came to Egypt during the famine:
  • Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher
  • Note: These are not the twelve tribes. You see only eleven names. Joseph was already there and was one of the tribes. Also not the same as the twelve territories of Israel – Joseph’s two sons (Manasseh and Ephraim) got territory and Levi did not.
• Total of 70 descendants of Israel
  • 75 people total
  • Plus Joseph’s family
  • Exodus 1:5; Acts 7:14
• Joseph died
• So many Israelites that “the land was filled with them”
  • Numbers 1:46 – 603,550 men capable of fighting, plus many more women and children
  • Another promise fulfilled – Genesis 46:3. God made them a great nation.

Pharaoh’s solution – deal “wisely”

• Exodus 1:8-14
• Did previous Pharaohs know Joseph?
  • Joseph was 110 years old his death
  • Probably overlapped the lives of most of the Pharaohs
  • New Pharaoh beyond the conversation
  • OR king by conquest of usurpation
    • Not a descendant of the court
    • Not privy to the conversation
• Wise solution?
  • Early signs of conspiracy
  • An opposition leader is born
  • That leader goes into exile
  • Exiled leader gains significant ally
    • Acts 7:25
  • Pharaoh loses
    • Cattle
    • First born, heir to his throne
    • Army
    • Face, prestige
  • So how wise was Pharaoh?
    • His hardness of heart was up front and with him to the end. Remember the wisdom of Gamaliel – Acts 5:38-39.
• Result of Pharaoh’s harsh treatment of Israel
  • God continued to keep His promise to Jacob
  • Israel continued to increase
  • Pharaoh’s will is thwarted by God
    • Pharaoh was already losing the fight – he just wasn’t wise enough to know it.

Pharaoh and the midwives

• Exodus 1:15-22
• The command from Pharaoh
• The actions of the midwives
  • Motivation
  • Principal
    • Genesis 9:6
• Their reply to Pharaoh
• God blesses the midwives
• Pharaoh’s new edict

God brings a deliverer

• Exodus 2:1-10
• God brings Moses to Israel
  • But he goes into the hands of Pharaoh’s daughter
  • Still, God provides

Flight to Midian

• Exodus 2:11-15
• Moses tries to reconnect with his people
  • Seeks to deliver – looks this way and that
  • His people don’t appreciate his action
  • Pharaoh seeks to avenge
  • Moses flees to Midian