Exodus: Going With God #1
A New King - Exodus 1
The title Exodus is a transliteration of the Septuagint title
Exodos, which of course means “departure” or “going out.” It is interesting, though,
that the Hebrew name for the book is simply the first phrase, “These Are the
Names.”
Exodus takes up the story of the Israelites where Genesis
leaves off. The almost 400 years after Joseph is coming to an end and God is
preparing to bring His people out and take them to the promised land. Much has
to happen before that great work can begin, Moses their great leader must be broken
and remolded by God. The Children of Israel, now numbering perhaps over a
million people, must be broken and remolded as well that they might become not
just the children of Israel but the Nation of God.
E. E. Flack says, “Exodus is undoubtedly the most
significant book dealing with the birth of a nation that has ever been
compiled” (“Interpretation of Exodus,” Interpretation, Jan., 1949). “All
subsequent Hebrew history or philosophy of history as reflected in the prophets
looked back to the Exodus as the creative act of God which constituted the
Hebrews a nation” (Alleman and Flack, Old Testament Commentary, p. 207). - Charles
F. Pfeiffer, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary: Old Testament, (Chicago: Moody
Press, 1962), Ge 50:22.
For us it is a historical narrative that we need to know but it
is also a picture of God dealing with His people in all generations and ages. The
Hebrews of the Exodus had to choose every day to go with God and the Church of the Lord in this age must
make that same choice.
So lets go to Exodus 1:1 and read of …
A New King - Exodus 1:1-8
Now these are the names of the children of Israel who
came to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob: Reuben,
Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; Dan,
Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. All those who were descendants of Jacob were
seventy persons (for Joseph was in Egypt already). And Joseph died, all
his brothers, and all that generation. But the children of Israel were
fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and
the land was filled with them. Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who
did not know Joseph.
The New King Hates
God’s People
Historians tell us that that time that is being recorded
here in the book of Exodus, a new dynasty had arisen in Egypt.
The upper and lower kingdoms of Egypt, which had been at
war, were now joined under one Pharaoh. The old Pharaoh’s kingdom, the old
dynasty, that had allowed Jacob and his children to enter Egypt and live in
peace, was overthrown and the new kings of lower Egypt now ruled.
Ready for some ancient Egyptian history? I know you are! It
seems that “The Hyskos invaders controlled Egypt from about 1720 B.C. until
1570. They were driven from the land by Amosis I, the founder of the Eighteenth
Dynasty. After the expulsion of the hated foreign kings, the enmity of the
Egyptians was turned against all who had been associated with them,
particularly the Hebrews, who were related to the Hyksos both by race and by
position. (from The Wycliffe Bible Commentary)
The Hebrews came under an oppressive authority which hated them
because they represented the old ruler who they saw as an occupying force.
The King of This
World Hates God people.
As I was thinking about this I realized that there is a
parallel, an application that can be made between the Hebrews in Egypt and
Christians in our country today. For we in this country also have in the last
few decades come under a new authority, a new king so to speak. A new king that
hates everything and everyone associated with the old authority.
You see, we were once a country that viewed and believed itself
“a nation under God.” Yes, it’s still in our pledge of allegiance, but not much
of anywhere else. Some today would even deny that our nation was ever a
“Christian” nation, but the proof of that truth is found everywhere in our
history.
Let me take a moment to define what I mean and what I think
is historically true about being a Christian nation. I don’t mean that we were
a theocracy. The Anglican / Presbyterian / Puritans tried to establish their
colonies and towns that way and it was a disaster. America was never a
theocracy governed directly by the Old Testament Laws as given to the
Israelites. No modern nation should ever try and be what only Israel was meant
to be and even they failed to be.
But America was a nation that based its laws, culture and institutions
on the foundation of what the Bible taught. We were a nation heavily, if not exclusively,
influenced and shaped by belief in and submission to the God of the Bible.
There is undeniable historical proof of this truth.
Our Declaration of Independence was a declaration of our belief
in on God.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Our Constitution was a foundation for a nation founded on
God’s Word.
At least 50 out of
the 55 men who framed the Constitution of the United States were professing
Christians. (M.E. Bradford, 1982).
Benjamin Franklin, at
the Constitutional Convention gave this plea when they had reached an impasse
and could not go forward.
“I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the
more convincing proofs I see of this truth: "that God governs in the
affairs of man." And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His
notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?
We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings that except
the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe
this. I also believe that without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in the
political building no better than the builders of Babel; we shall be divided by
our little, partial local interests; our projects will be confounded; and we
ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages. And what is
worse, mankind may hereafter from this unfortunate instance, despair of
establishing government by human wisdom and leave it to chance, war or
conquest. I therefore beg leave to move that, henceforth, prayers imploring the
assistance of Heaven and its blessing on our deliberation be held in this
assembly every morning before we proceed to business.”
The Convention was dismissed and a declaration made for all citizens
to pray and fast seeking God’s intervention. And after that recess of prayer
and fasting The United States of America arose.
There is much, much more, but we will save it for another
time. But even from this small sampling we see that our nation had a foundation
on the Word of God, in the prayers to God and the morality taught by God. What
the Founding Fathers believed then and what even what our parents and
grandparents believed just a few years ago is what promised in ….
Ps 33:12-18 Blessed
is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his
own inheritance. The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of
men. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of
the earth. He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.
There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not
delivered by much strength. An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall
he deliver any by his great strength. Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them
that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
But that belief is no longer the case in the United States. Today
a new dynasty is in power. A new king has invaded the land and he despises all
that the old authority stood for.
Since the 1960s our nation has been turned morally upside
down and spiritually inside out.
Prayer has been purged
from public schools. The Ten Commandments has been ripped from the walls of
schools and state capitals. Even the sidewalks outside any government building
are a forbidden zone for any reminders of God in this nation. The Bible is almost universally forbidden to
be read in any city, state or federal government building. Crosses, that
symbolize the sacrifice of our Savior for our salvation, have been torn down and
removed from parks, government buildings and even official seals or flags.
Homosexual marriage
is not only legal it is encouraged and praised. Drug use has been legalized
from border to border. Innocent children are being mentally, emotionally and
spiritually scared by sexual perversion promoted by the entertainment industry,
the media, libraries, and our government. We are told by “doctors, scientists
and psychologists” that even biological genders which come from the Creator, no
longer exist. There is no such thing as a man or a woman. Choose whatever you
want to be and do whatever you want to do because if there is no God then there
is no right or wrong, no truth or lie, no black and no white.
You can’t help but remember the words of God through Isaiah
in …
Isaiah’s Woe Upon Wickedness
Isaiah 5:20-23 20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and
good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter
for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own
eyes, and prudent in their own sight! 22
Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle
strong drink: 23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the
righteousness of the righteous from him!
Never have those words of God been truer than they are in
our nation than today. Let’s go back to Exodus and see if there other application
and warnings we can find as God’s people in the land of a Godless king, then
and now.
A New Affliction - Exodus 1:9-11
And he said to his people, "Look, the people of the children of Israel are
more and mightier than we; come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest
they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our
enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land."
Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their
burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses.
The New King’s
Slavery
After 400 years, living in peace in the region of Egypt
called Goshen, the new Pharaoh of Egypt rises to power, a Pharoah who did not
know Joseph, he is afraid that the Hebrews would unite with the enemy he had
just driven from the land or any other invader and rebel against him. He says, Exodus
1:10 “Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to
pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies,
and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.”
His idea of dealing with them wisely is in the next verse, Exodus
1:11Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their
burdens.
The children of Israel, the Hebrews, had been in the land
for almost 400 years at this stage of the narrative. God had prophesied to
Abraham in Genesis 15:13-14 13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that
thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve
them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation,
whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with
great substance.
Exodus 12:40 confirms this number. “Now the sojourning of
the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.”
It is amazing that after 400 years, the Israelites had not
been assimilated into the culture and intermarried with the Egyptians. Even
more amazing after 4000 years, the Jews still stand as unique in their culture,
beliefs and identity as the Covenant People of God. It is one of the strongest proofs
of God’s existence and the truth of His Word. Israel still exists as a people
and as a nation. They should not, hundreds if not thousands of other ancient peoples
no longer exist, but God’s chosen nation is still here.
Throughout history Satan has tried to destroy them, using religious
and world leaders but still they stand. Hitler rounded up millions, confined
them to ghettos, stole their possession, transported them to concentration
camps and shot or gassed 6 to 7 million Jews and yet, the people of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob still stand. The nation of God still stands because the
promises of God still stand.
And aren’t you glad because we, the New Covenant people of
the Lord, stand on the promises given to us through God’s own Son, Jesus
Christ.
The New Slavery
Today we can see that the goal of many who serve the King of
this World is to make us all slaves. Almost every day I read stories of those
who would take away our freedom of religion, freed of speech and the freedom to
assemble from the church and our nation.
City after city has passed laws which prohibit churches from
starting anywhere in a city except where the city allows. Some even going so
far as to prohibit Bible studies and prayer meetings in private homes.
The Supreme Court had to settle the case of Masterpiece
Cakeshop Ltd v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Jack Phillips a Colorado
baker, refused to design a custom cake for a gay couple's wedding in 2012. Phillips,
a Christian, told the couple that while he was happy to sell them other baked
goods, he could not bake them a wedding cake because doing so would be
tantamount to participating in a religious ceremony to which he objected. The
couple complained to the Colorado Civil Rights Commission and later sued
Phillips. The commission and state courts found that Phillips had violated
Colorado's anti-discrimination laws. Colorado is one of 22 states that prohibit
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Jack Phillip won that case
but the state of Colorado has brought two other case against him since that
time and he is under indictment even as we mee here this morning.
In Oregon another bakery has been fined $135,000 for doing
the same and 70-year-old Barronelle Stutzman, a florist in Washington has been
fined and is now liable for the court costs of her own trial that could amount
to over $350,000. Both Christian companies will be driven out of business if
the fines stand.
And there is an even more dangerous threat to Christians
today a threat that truly could and is making us slaves.
Not slaves in the OT sense or even in the Civil war sense
but slaves, nevertheless. Slaves are individuals who are not free to make their
own choice in the most important matters of their life. In that sense the “new
rulers” have been very successful in making new slaves. Willing and supposedly
happy slaves. People today are emotional and spiritual slaves to the King of
This World. They are slaves to the world’s fads and fashions, slaves to the
worlds ideal of popularity, slaves to the world’s idea of love, sex or
marriage. Slaves to the world’s philosophy and eventually slaves to the world’s
emptiness and hopelessness. Slaves who willing take up the chains offered by
this world and gladly shackled themselves to the stocks of sin and sorrow.
Paul warns of this danger in Romans 12:2 2 And be not
conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Harriet Tubman on Slavery
Harriet Tubman was the most famous conductor of the “Underground Railroad”
she freed 100s of slaves by herself and during the civil war she led a raid as
a scout for the Union Army that freed over 750 people at one time. She hated
slavery and what it did to her and her people She said, “Slavery is the next
thing to hell.”
What Harriet Tubman said about physical slavery is also true
of spiritual slavery. We may not as easily recognize it, but it is just as
deadly and debilitating to a soul as chains are to a body.
In her later years she was recognized as one the great
heroes of our nation and books were written about her and newspapers
interviewed her. In one of those places looking back on her life she said, “I
freed a thousand slaves I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew
they were slaves.”
If only we knew that the sin of this world makes us slaves,
we would cry out to the Lord as the Hebrews did, and as Harriet Tubman did.
Crying out for the freedom that only comes from turning to the Lord Jesus and
following Him.
Let’s go back to Exodus 1 and see what happened to the
Children of Israel as Pharoah tried to control them, make them slaves and
destroy them.
A New Strength - Exodus
1:12-14
But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And
they were in dread of the children of Israel. So the Egyptians made the
children of Israel serve with rigor. And they made their lives bitter with hard
bondage--in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All
their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.
Prospering Under Affliction
No matter how hard the whips of the Egyptian taskmasters
fell on the backs of the Children of Israel, the Bible says God’s people
flourished. Do you know why? Because, in spite of it all, they were, and they
still are God’s people. Despite their imperfection and flaws they were still
the people of the covenant. Despite their apathy they were still protected by
the promises of God to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Despite their sin, they were still
the people of God that will rule the earth with their Messiah as prophesied in
the Covenant of David. They are God’s people, and He will not forget nor
forsake them.
Isaiah 49:14-16 But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and
my Lord hath forgotten me. (The Lord answers) 15 Can a woman forget her sucking
child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they
may forget, yet will I not forget thee. 16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the
palms of my hands…
Isaiah 54:8-10 8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee
for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith
the LORD thy Redeemer. 10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be
removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant
of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.
Suffering, slavery, and even sin cannot undo God’s love for His
own. Those things cannot make God forget His covenants with Israel, nor His
promises to those He has called to be his own. He is the eternal God and His
promises are eternal promises.
Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither
the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it
good?
1 Samuel 15:29 29 And also the Strength of Israel will not
lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.
Malachi 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye
sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Protection In Affliction
Israel has endured untold, endless and merciless persecution
and yet Israel still stands, and we rejoice with them because the same God who
protected Israel in Egypt, is the same God who is protecting the true church
today. God’s covenant with the Abraham, will never be broken and God’s new
covenant will never be broken.
Just as Israel in Egypt continued to flourish even under the
burdens and lashes of the taskmasters, the Lord churches today grow and
strengthen even as the persecution of the Satan and his minions increases.
Christian Persecution Today
It is easy for us in the United States to miss the fact that
the greatest persecution in the world today is poured out on Christians, while
Jews are the second most persecuted.
In 2019 According to Open Doors USA, an average of 105
churches are burned or attacked every month. That is more than three per day,
and almost all of those attacks get ignored by the mainstream media in the
western world. In addition, an average of 345 Christians are killed for faith-related
reasons every single month.
And even though the persecution of Christians is more widespread
outside the United States, we are no immune. Here is a short list of the church
shootings that have occurred since 1999 in our nation.
Over 23 church shootings
since 1999
1999 Wedgewood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas
2001 Greater Oak Missionary Baptist Church in
Hopkinsville, Kentucky
2002 Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Lynbrook, New
York
2003 Turner Monumental AME Church in Kirkwood, Georgia
2005 Living Church of God in Brookfield, Wisconsin
2005 World Changers Church in College Park, Georgia
2006 Zion Hope Missionary Baptist in Detroit, Michigan
2006 Ministry of Jesus Christ Church in Baton Rouge,
Louisiana
2007 First Presbyterian Church in Moscow, Idaho
2007 First Congregational Church in Neosho, Missouri
2007 New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado
2008 First Baptist Church in Maryville, Illinois
2009 Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kansas
2012 World Changers Church in College Park, Georgia
2015 Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina
2017 Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch, Tennessee
2017 First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas
2017 St. Alphonsus Church in Fresno, Texas
2019 West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement,
Texas
2022 The Church In Sacramento in Sacramento, California
2022 Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, California
2022 Cornerstone Church in Ames, Iowa
2022 St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills,
Alabama
Churches Burned - When churches are not killing fields they
are often targets of hatred in the form of arson. Back in 2015 It was estimated
that half of all church fires were arson. Some deranged Satan inspired soul,
hated the Lord’s church so much that they could not even stand to see the
building.
During the 2020 Black Lives Matter and Antifa Anarchist
riots churches were burned and vandalized in cities all across the nation. It
made little news in the midst of all the other destruction, but understand the
radical Marxist leaders of BLM and Antifa hate Christianity as much as they
hate the police.
Shaun King on the most
influential leaders of the BLM movement made this statement on social media for
all the world to read, “Yes. All murals and stained glass windows of white
Jesus and his European mother, and their white friends should also come down.
They are a gross form of white supremacy. Created as tools of oppression.
Racist propaganda. They should all come down.” And come down they did during
the riots.
East Texas Church Burnings - And lest we think those things
only can happen in big cities or outside the Bible Belt, do you remember 2010
right here in East Texas? Here is the list of churches burned by just two
individuals.
January 1 – Little Hope Baptist Church, Canton
January 1 – Faith
Church, Athens
January 12 – Lake Athens Baptist Church
January 12 – Grace Community Church, Athens
January 16 – Tyland Baptist Church in Tyler
January 17 – First Church of Christ, Scientist in Tyler
January 20 – Prairie Creek Fellowship of Lindale
February 4 – Russell Memorial United Methodist Church in
Wills Point
February 8 – Dover Baptist Church outside Lindale
February 8 – Clear Spring Missionary Baptist Church, on CR
426 near the Smith-Van Zandt county line
And in 2020, it was not arson or gunmen that shut down our
churches it was our own Federal Government. At first this seemed reasonable,
even wise but in many cities when the lockdown just dragged on and on, churches
had enough and they began to meet again. When that happened, many pastors were threatened
with arrest and many were arrested, some right in the church building others in
the street after services or at their homes. Churches were padlocked and in one
liberal city, the mayor ordered the city workers to fence in the church so that
no-one could even get into the parking lot.
Just last year in 2022, 25-30 FBI agents arrested Christian pro-life
activist Mark Houck after storming his home with holding automatic weapons,
helmets and body armor. The rifles were pointed at the man and his wife in
front of their young children. Mark Houck was arrested. His crime? Praying at an
abortion clinic when a man accosted Marks 12 year old son and his dad had to
intervene between the man and his son, the man was knocked down and filed
charges, which the local police refused to act upon. Good thing the FBI decided
to rectify that omission. He was acquitted in January of this year, if he had
been convicted he faced 11 years in prison.
In England, Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, the director of the U.K.
March for Life, has been arrested twice since December of last year for daring
to silently pray in front of an abortion center. She was acquitted both times
but the second time told by the court not to come back.
What is the result of all this persecution?
Have the people of God, the church of Jesus Christ given up?
Have they walked away? Have they decided that it’s just not worth it? You know
the answer because you are living the answer right here this morning. Just as
the Children of Israel could not be defeated by Pharoah’s taskmaster’s, the
church of Jesus Christ will not be defeated by Satan’s taskmaster today. No
matter how high in authority they sit in our school boards, cities, state, and
federal legislatures or even in the White House.
The true church will not be conquered, cowed or coerced
because we are the stand on the promises of our founder and protector, Jesus
Christ. We know and stand on the promises He has made to us, the New Covenant
people of God.
Jesus said in Matthew 16:18-19 …upon this rock I will build
my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will
give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on
earth shall be loosed in heaven.
We know just as surely as Paul knew and told Timothy in his
epistle, 1 Timothy 3:15 “the house of
God, …is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” It
will not cease until the Lord calls us to Himself when He prepares to return in
glory and power.
Conclusion
I want to close with the words of Jesus that our faith rest
upon, now no matter that difficulties or persecution which may come, and word
that our faith will rest upon for all eternity.
Three times in the Gospels it is recorder that Jesus said, Matthew
24:35 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Jesus everlasting words of truth brought us everlasting salvation.
His eternal words of power give us full
assurance of our eternal salvation. His unfailing words of protection give us unfailing
hope knowing the church will always stand
One day all of the host of heaven will celebrate when the
Lamb takes his bride arrayed in spotless white. What a day John told us of in Revelation
19:6-9 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the
voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia:
for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give
honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made
herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine
linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are
they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto
me, These are the true sayings of God.
What a day that will be. What a joy we will experience as
the church of Jesus Christ becomes the Bride of the Lamb.
