Sermon Tone Analysis

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Introduction
Exodus, the second book of the Bible is part of a much bigger narrative called the Pentateuch.
Which includes Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
See each of these books as a chapter in the overall story.
Exodus is a book that involves movement.
Firstly, movement of the Israelites from Egypt to Mount Sinai.
Secondly, the movement of God, who takes up residence in the very midst of the Israelite camp.
As we are going to see in this series, the coming together of God and the Israelites at Mount Sinai is highly significant, but often overlooked.
So Why Exodus:
Exodus contributes in a very significant way to our understanding of God’s redemptive plan for all humanity.
We see several themes:
Redemption
Reconciliation
God’s Presence
God keeping His Promises.
Exodus is all about God making Himself known to others, it provides proof of God’s existence through supernatural events.
Last Week
Last Sunday we spent much of our time in Genesis:
Life was perfect in the garden, we lived in Gods presence.
Paradise was lost after the fall, we could no longer be in God presence.
But God made a promise to a man named Abraham, a promise that he would have a miracle child and his family would become a great nation.
We need to understand two main points in this narrative:
God is working on a good plan.
That plan, built on his promises rarely plays out like we think it’s going to.
The beginning of Exodus shows this great nation being oppressed under the Egyptians.
God’s plan of them being a great nation doesn’t seem to be working the way it would have been expected.
The Israelites keep growing and Pharaoh orders all the first born male children to be killed.
It is in the midst of this chaos that the story introduces us to a new character.
The Birth of Moses
The Text in Context
In order to understand the significance of this text we have to understand it set against the background of Pharaoh’s desire to kill all the newborn Hebrew baby boys.
The first 3 verses give us a picture of the environment.
Lets step away from the text for a moment.
I have a hard time believing that the Hebrew women are actually following Pharaoh’s order, by throwing there newborn male babies into the nile.
The text shows us that Moses’ mother didn’t.
This would mean that the Hebrews are living in fear, when their children are born they would have experienced the Egyptian army going house to house looking for male babies.
It is in this environment that we are introduced to one of the most significant characters in the Old Testament.
Exodus 2 can be broken up into three specific episodes:
we learn of the birth of Moses and his amazing rescue from death.
we encounter Moses as an adult, deeply concerned for the well-being of his fellow Israelites.
We see Moses as a fugitive, living in a foreign land.
Each of these episodes help us to gain a glimpse of the identity of the one who will soon be commissioned to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
Unpacking the Text
An unusual feature of verses 1-10 is the absence of personal names, as the narrative continues we will eventually find out who Moses birth parents are, and the fact that he has a sister named Miriam and a brother name Aaron.
But the author takes the focus away from family and wants us to focus on the birth of this specific child.
The papyrus “basket” in which Moses is placed is called a “tebah” in Hebrew.
The only other place this word is used in the Old Testament is to describe the ark in the story of Noah.
So there is imagery of this basket and the ark playing a similar role of safety and deliverance.
It is interesting that Pharaoh’s daughter is the one used by God to rescue the Hebrew child.
She shows a compassion that her father lacks.
We literally see in this text God inserting a Hebrew into the house of Pharaoh, the one who wants all Hebrew boys dead.
Then we see God’s providence where the child is actually taken care of by the actual mother.
Then later raised as an Egyptian.
The story jumps to the next scene and we are introduced to Moses as an adult.
He is confused about his identity, the text says “he went out to visit his own people” Moses knows he is a Hebrew living in an Egyptian home.
The man who God is going to choose to deliver His people from oppression is a murderer.
The third scene show us a fugitive on the run making a new life for himself in Midian.
The entire time this story is unfolding God remains in the background.
There Are Three Main Lessons Show in This Text.
These lesson help us to reflect on the influences and choices that shape us as people.
They give us a glimpse into Moses, but they also challenge our character and thinking.
We can learn something of how God expects us to live our lives.
These same character traits are later seen in Jesus.
Who is considered the second Moses.
Rejecting Power, Prestige, and Wealth
It would have been so easy for Moses to just fall into the life he was given.
A life of power, prestige, and wealth.
This is a significant point in the narrative to pay attention to, so significant that the author of Hebrews in the NT references it.
The fleeting pleasures of sin.....Moses choose oppression over sin.
Loving power, prestige and wealth are sin.
These things mess up our priorities.
Jesus warns us of this by teaching that we must prioritize our commitment to him before other commitments.
We see this in the story of the rich young ruler.
(Matt.
19:21; Mark 10:21; Luke 18:22)
Change your priorities, making Jesus your main priority.
That’s what it takes to follow Him.
When our priorities are confused we are weak in our faith.
Illustration:
Using Play-doh demonstrate how play-doh can be easily molded by a cookie cutter.
But a rock can’t be changed by the cookie cutter.
What are the essential elements of your faith?
Are they soft convictions like the Play-Doh that can be shaped by the world?
Or are your convictions rooted in the unshakable rock of God’s Word?
Identifying with the Underdog
Living for Jesus requires a willingness to stand up for the oppressed.
In doing this we have to be cautious that our actions do not in turn oppress others.
Moses made this mistake early on when he killed the Egyptian.
The reaction of the oppressed was that Moses wanted to be their ruler and Judge.
We have to follow God lead in helping the oppressed, God wants us to lead by example, showing love and compassion.
Living as Exiles
Moses is very conscious that he lives as a foreign resident in Midian.
The book of Hebrews highlights how Abraham placed himself in the city whose architect and builder is God.
He viewed himself as a resident alien in a world that had no place for God.
We as Christians need to appreciate that we are exiles in this world, a world that doesn’t favour God, but favours sin.
Our inheritance is a city that has yet to come, the new Jerusalem.
We must remember to not let the world stain us and control us.
We have to keep our priorities straight.
We have to be patient living a life of delayed gratification.
In the 1960’s, psychologist Walter Mischel at Stanford University conducted a series of experiments on the power of delayed gratification.
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