Sermon Tone Analysis

Big Idea

Tension: How does God finally save Israel from the Egyptians?

Resolution: By bringing Israel through on dry land but drowning the Egyptians in the Red Sea.

Exegetical Idea: God finally saves Israel from the Egyptians by bringing them through on dry land but by drowning the Egyptians in the Red Sea.

Theological Idea: Through baptism into Christ, God drowns our sin and saves our souls.

Homiletical Idea: In Christ, God saves us by judging our sin and saving our souls.

Homiletical Idea: Through baptism into Christ, God drowns our sin and saves our souls.

Exposition

Have you ever noticed that for Christians, the

Exposition

Have you ever been watching a movie or a tv show, and you see a bad guy do something, and then it seems like they’ve escaped.

But then a scene later it turns out they’re not really dead?

They weren’t really destroyed?

Then there is this big final showdown to finally defeat the villain once and for all.

Well that’s kind of what happens here.

In our scene today, we see that the enemies that we thought were dead are not really.

You see, throughout this whole book of Egypt, we have seen how God has been bringing the people of Israel out of hte land of Egypt.

And we have said, that the ultimate reason that God is doing this is to show that he alone is the true God.

That he alone is the true, and glorious God over all.

And we have seen how Egypt oppressed them, but God sent Moses and Aaron to do his wondrous miracles.

And yet, Egypt still would nto listen.

So God hurled plague after plague, and these plagues were carefully designed to dismantle their entire worldview and religion, until they are forced to admit that God alone is the true God.

So God attacks Egypt, by turning hte Nile to blood, by sending frogs up from teh Nile, by swarms of flies and gnats, by cursing their livestock, by sending boils, by sending a hailstorm and then locusts, by cutting out the sunlight, and finally by sending the angel of death to kill the firstborn of every egyptian household.

And all of these different plagues were carefully designed so pick apart a different part of teh Egyptian religion, whether it was the gods of the Nile, or the gods of the sky, or the gods of health, or the gods of chaos, or the gods of power.

And finally, when Egypt is ruined and Pharoah is humbled, Pharaoh says to Moses, “Get out.”

So Moses and Israel flee from Egypt.

And we talked last week about how they went down into the wilderness rather than towards the land of Canaan.

And that is where this picks up today:

Crisis (1-4)

Turning directions: Now what we see here is that Israel is tasked with turning here in these first few verses.

Now, probably what happens is that they are going zig-zag towards the Red Sea.

So God directs them down southeast towards the Red Sea, but because they are going zig-zag, Israel doesn’t relaly know where they are going.

And probably the reason that God is having them go this way instead of just making them go in a more or less straight line, is to make them trust him.

He doesn’t tell them what’s ahead of what’s next or where they’re going, because he wants them to not trust in their knowledge.

Sometimes the reason that God doesn’t tell us why we’re where we’re at, or where we’re going, or what his plan is, is because he wants us to trust him.

That’s what’s going on here.

Harden Pharaoh’s heart: Now, God says, “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart.”

Now we’ve talked about that some, and if you wnat to talk about that more, please talk to me after the service.

But for our purposes here, what’s importantt to know isthat God is bringing the Egyptians after them for one final climactic battle.

That this will be the last battle Israel has to face with Egypt before they’re gone.

I will get glory: Now, look here.

God doesn’t tell us how he will show his victory over the Egyptians.

He just tells Israel that he will get teh glory.

God says, “I know you don’t understand this, I know you don’t get this, but I will get glory out of this situation and this crisis.

I will be exalted, and I will be lifted up.”

Rising Action

Egypt (5-9)

1. Pharaoh’s actions

Reported to Pharaoh: So now, Pharaoh has his intelligence agency.

And they come and tell him, “Uh, sir, the Israelites, they seem like they’re lost.”

And Pharaoh says, “Didn’t they google it?”

And his men shrug, and Pharaoh is filled with regret and anger.

He says, “Why did twe let them go again?”

Readied his meen: So Pharaoh readies his men.

And he musters as many people as he can, and they chase after Israel.

Now, notice here that Pharaoh takes both his “chosen” chariots and all his other chariots.

This is like if someone would sya, “I’m going after them with everything I got.

I’m going to use my special forces and my infantry.

Everything that I have is going after them.”

Overtook them: And because the Egyptians had such a well organized military overtook Israel at the Red Sea.

So Israel, who is going kind of slow cause they got women and children and they’re kind of confused are kind of ambling along, and we see here that Pharoah and all his men are going at a breakneck speed to cut them off in the wilderness and to make them pay.

What was their motivation?

Now, let me ask a question.

What was their motivation?

I mean, hadn’t Pharaoh just been humilitated in front of his own people?

Hadn’t he learned his lesson?

WHy would he try to seek after Israel, even though he knows it isn’t going to turn out well?

Well, the text doesn’t really tell us what was going through Pharaoh’s head at this time.

But I think probably what was going on, knowing the character of Pharaoh as we have seen him so far, is that reluctance to let God reign.

Yes, he has been shown that he is not the one true God who made all things seen and unseen.

Yes, he knows in theory he’s not GOd.

But he can’t accept it.

He knows God is God, but he won’t repent.

He knows God reigns, but he won’t relinquish the throne.

He knows that he’s not a God, but he has his scepter, and he’s going to do whatever is in his power to make Israel pay.

But he does not realize that God is setting an ambush.

Israel (vs10-12): Now, we turn to the camp of Israel.

And they get to the Red Sea, and they’re kind of hanging out, really not thinking much, and then they turn and they see, bearing down on them, the Egyptians.

And it literally says here that they see the cloud of the Egyptians’ moving so quickly.

And so there’s kind of htis suspense going on.

And of course, the Israelites panick.

They say, totally forgetting what God has just done, “It would have been better for us to serve teh Egytpians than to die in teh wilderness.”

The Israelites feel like they’re about to be slaughtered.

They just think this is not goign to go well for them.

And so they lash out at Moses.

Moses (13-14): Now, I love the response of Moses here.

I mean, this is totally the frustration of a dad on the road trip.

Dad, are we there yet?

Dad I’m thirsty, I’m hungry, I’m tired.

You can see Moses who has been putting up with these people long enough.

“Moses, we’re tired, we’re thirsty, we’re hungry, can we stop for a bathroom break?

Moses, it would have been better if we never left Egypt.”

And Moses just turns to the Israelites, and say, “Fear not.

Stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord… the Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Moses essentially says, “Shutup and watch.”

Moses says, “Sit back and watch what the Lord will do.”

The Lord:

Split the sea (15-18): Now a lot of what God says here he is just reiterating from earlier.

But there are two interesting things here.

First, for the first time we see that God lets Moses in on what he’s planning.