Last week we saw how “A new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt.” (Exodus 1:8). But of course, “Joseph” is a package deal. To not know Joseph is to not know Joseph’s lineage (to not know Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). To not know Joseph is to not know about the spiritual and moral heritage of Israel, the salvation history, the covenant promises of God. When that knowledge of Joseph passed, we saw how the character of Egyptian society changed. The Egyptians became fearful, controlling, abusive, insolent, murderous, and genocidal.
There are a number of movements afoot, in American culture, to cause us to divorce our spiritual heritage. There are those who would love to toss out our marriage to Judaism, to Christianity, to the Judeo-Christian worldview that has so profoundly shaped our society. There are others who, for all practical purposes, are tossing out our spiritual heritage, by personally neglecting it.
Study after study shows spiritual attitudes are changing. The last thing people think their kids need is Bible lessons. Kids need Taylor Swift, sports, Tik Tok, Minecraft, Netflix. But knowledge of God? What if the next generation of leaders, of people, lost all memory of our spiritual heritage? What if we tossed out Christianity? Tossed out all knowledge of God? Jettisoned our Biblical roots? What would fill the vacuum? Something good? Something better?
There are so many things we could say about Moses. As we read the opening chapters of Exodus, we saw how Israel cried out to God for help. Have you ever found yourself so overwhelmed in need, you had no choice but to cry out to God? Have you ever found yourself weighted down by trouble, abused by merciless taskmasters, harassed by bitter and difficult circumstances. Ever feel that life is a pressure cooker, squeezing what little bit of life you have left out of you? The Israelites “groaned” because of their difficulties. They “cried out” and their cry for help was heard.
BTW, it’s interesting in the New Testament how Apostle Paul in Romans 8 picks up on that word “groan” as he says all creation groans, and we also groan inwardly, in these earthly bodies as wait for our redemption. Exodus 2:24-25, “God heard their groaning; and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and Jacob; and God saw the Israelites, and God knew.”
For the better part of my life, I’ve been a minister of Jesus Christ. There have no doubt been seasons of life when I’ve personally “groaned” before God. For fifty years of life, I’d say the hardest stuff I’ve faced is standing alongside other’s in their groaning. I’ve stood by people through most every imaginable pain.
But going back to myself, I’d characterize most of the afflictions I’ve gone through as “light and momentary.” I’ve really not had to worry about anyone except myself, and Lara. Bless the Lord, Lara has always been low maintenance! She has probably spent far more time groaning about me than me about her! But you know I’ve always felt God has heard my prayers, and remembered me. I’ve always assumed God knows exactly what I’m going through and need. I haven’t spent a lot of time worrying about myself before God. Does that sound weird?
But more lately that’s changed. Currently I’m learning what it means to “honor my mother and father” as God commands in Exodus 20:12. I’m having to put into practice 1 Timothy 5:3-4 which says, “Support widows who are genuinely in need. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them learn to practice godliness toward their own family first and to repay their parents, for this pleases God.” You know it’s a joy and an honor to take care of a parent. But it’s also a groan-fest. 1 Timothy 5:5 says, “The widow who is truly in need and left all alone has put her hope in God and continues night and day in her petitions and prayers.” In some ways, if you are a caregiver, you are the answer to your loved one’s prayer. Nobody is answering that bell! 1 Timothy 5:8 says, “But if anyone does not provide for his own family, especially for his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
But the greater truth is that whether it’s our needs, or a loved one’s needs, only God is really great enough to supply all that a person needs. I’ve got another family member who is not my child, and who is not my aging parent, who is also in a continual groan fest. And he calls me, often daily, and expects that I’ll feel obligated to give all he needs because I’m a pastor, and I’m “family.” He says, “Here is my rent, my utility bill, my cell phone bill, I need someone to clean my house and do my laundry, and fix my car.” If 1 Timothy 5:8 were the end of the matter, I’d be buried right now, this person would happily attach their umbilical cord to me and take nutrients! But 1 Timothy 5:6 talks about those who are “self-indulgent,” and “who are dead even while they live.” The more you help the self-indulgent person the more they’ll “ring your bell”; literally and metaphorically!
With one family member I feel like I need in part to be the answer to their prayers; and for the other I continually tell them, “You should be groaning before God not me.” It’s not that you’re not truly in need—you need to learn to cry out to God night and day” (like the 1 Timothy 5:5 widow). “I’ll stand alongside you in prayer, but you also need to get on your knees!” Moses’ message of comfort was continually, “God knows. He hears. You’re not facing anything too big for God.”
There is a verse that caught my eye. In Exodus 6:6-8, God tells Moses everything he wants him to say to the Israelites: “Therefore tell the Israelites: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians and rescue you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you to the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.”
But then notice Exodus 6:9, “Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor.” Sometimes you gotta just keep telling people to trust God! Moses does this, and a whole lot more.
There is another verse that caught my eye, and it’s over in Exodus 20:2. There is this expression God commands Moses to repeat, and say to the people. It begins this way, “I am the Lord your God, who. . .” Part of Moses duty is to keep coming back to the people and reminding them just who God is. For devotional purposes I went back through Exodus and started to make a list of everything Moses discovered God to be.
First, there is the obvious fact of God’s protection and care. God heard, God saw, God knew. Just as God providentially raised up Joseph to save a nation, God providentially raised up Moses to save his people.
For Moses there is the fact of God’s unstoppable faithfulness. God remembered the covenant he swore with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and his Twelve sons. God is working across generations!
For Moses there is the fact of God’s supernatural revelation. Hey, I’ve never spoken eloquently. I’ve always been slow of speech but the God who gave me my tongue, this is what he’s commanded. There is the fact of God's unapproachable holiness. Moses, do not come any closer. Take off your shoes, you are standing on holy ground. There is the fact of God’s boundless glory and name. God introduces himself as “I am who I am.” God transcends any box we might try to put him into, any label we might try to assign him!
For Moses there is the fact of God’s ferocious jealousy. Not only does God call Israel “my son” he makes it abundantly clear they are his possession, his kingdom of priests, his holy nation, and he will not be denied worship due him.
For Moses there is the fact of God's fierce power and retribution. Through ten plagues God demonstrates his power over nature, and power over the gods of Egypt. God executes judgement on Pharaoh, on all of Egypt, on the firstborn sons of Egypt. God destroys Pharaoh’s entire army in the sea!
For Moses there is the fact of unlimited patience and tolerance and grace. The Passover celebration was a commemoration of Israel’s holiness. It was a commemoration of God’s mercy and grace. It was a reminder that were it not for the blood of a lamb, Israel would have shared in the fate of the Egyptians. But God allowed his blood to cover the doorpost, homes, lives of his people.
For Moses there is the fact of God’s tangible presence and protection. Exodus 13:21-22 says, “The Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to lead them on their way during the day and in a pillar of fire to give them light at night, so that they could travel day or night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never left its place in front of the people. In Exodus 14:13-14, Moses gives this great speech to the Israelites, He says, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you must be quiet.”
There is the fact of God’s Healing Hand. In Exodus 15:1-18 Moses sings this powerful ballad to the people. It follows the Exodus 20:2 formula, “I am the God who. . .” We cannot allow the next generation to forget Joseph, to forget the spiritual and moral heritage of Israel, God’s mighty acts and deeds in salvation history, God’s covenant promises.
But even more than this, something Moses helps Israel understand, is how to live out the implications of all who God is. There is for Moses, the fact that God is the Holy Lawgiver and Judge. In Exodus 19:20 it says, “The Lord came down on Mount Sinai at the top of the mountain. Then the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and he went up.” God’s essential edict is, “Be my holy people!” Back in Exodus 15:26 Moses says, “If you will carefully obey the Lord your God, do what is right in his sight, pay attention to his commands, and keep all his statutes, I will not inflict any illnesses on you that I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”
It’s not just that Israel should “cry out to God.” It’s that they should further obey God! Exodus 20:2, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. . . [THEREFORE!]” Do not have any other Gods. I am the Lord your God: Acknowledge the one true God and have any other Gods or idols. Revere God’s holy name. Remember Sabbath. Honor parents. Do not murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, covet what belongs to others. Paul said, Be imitators of God. Peter said, be holy because God is holy. John said love God and love people. The great hope of our nation is that name of Joseph—even more so—name of his God, and implications of knowing this God, will not be lost on future generations.