The Rise & Fall of God's People

Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  29:12
0 ratings
· 53 views
Files
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Last Week we look at lessons from Joseph’s Life. There are many more that we could study on his life.
As we look at the birth of Moses, we will lean that even when it’s not apparent, God’s plan will be accomplished not matter what. We can either fight his will or we can be used by God to fulfill it.
Joseph had sav ed his brothers… his whole family which would later become the nation of Israel. But ass he becomes older, he knows that one day his descendants will leave Egypt and return to the land God had given them.
Genesis 50:24–26 NLT
24 “Soon I will die,” Joseph told his brothers, “but God will surely come to help you and lead you out of this land of Egypt. He will bring you back to the land he solemnly promised to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath, and he said, “When God comes to help you and lead you back, you must take my bones with you.” 26 So Joseph died at the age of 110. The Egyptians embalmed him, and his body was placed in a coffin in Egypt.
So Joseph died and then his brothers died.
Exodus 1:1–6 NLT
1 These are the names of the sons of Israel (that is, Jacob) who moved to Egypt with their father, each with his family: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, 4 Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5 In all, Jacob had seventy descendants in Egypt, including Joseph, who was already there. 6 In time, Joseph and all of his brothers died, ending that entire generation.
The “Sons of Israel” were descendants of Jacob whose name was changed by God to Israel when he wrestled with the Lord. Jacob’s family had moved to Egypt at the invitation of Joseph, one of Jacob’s sons who had been sold into slavery but had become a great ruler in Egypt.
The Israelites grew in numbers into a great nation, but as foreigners their lives were different from the Egyptians. They lived in Goshen away from the cultural centers of Egypt. They worshipped the one true God while the Egyptians worshipped many false gods. The Israelites were wanderers bu the Egyptians had a deeply rooted culture where they were. The Israelites were shepherds, but the Egyptians were builders.
Joseph and his brothers all died ending that entire generation that had come to Egypt at the invitation of Joseph and the Pharoah.
Exodus 1:8 NLT
8 Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done.
Here a new Pharoah comes to power who did not know Joseph of anything that he had done for Egypt.
We are always one generation from losing our faith heritage.
The Israelites grew so much that the Egyptians were afraid of them.
Exodus 1:9–10 NLT
9 He said to his people, “Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are. 10 We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don’t, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will escape from the country.”
Pharoah was afraid of the Israelites because they became so numerous and he was afraid that they would decide to organize against him and conquer Egypt. So he made them slaves and began to really oppress them trying to kill their spirit and stop their growth.
Slavery was a tool used by ancient civilizations to employ conquered people as well as other captives to do the work. Most likely the pyramids of Egypt were built by slave labor.
Look at what the Egyptians did...
Exodus 1:11 NLT
11 So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king.
The Egyptians enslaved the Israelites and forced them to build several cities Pithon and Rameses which were supply centers for the Pharoah. These cities may have already existed, but Rameses improved them and then took credit for building them… an apparent common practice then and now for politicians.
The Egyptians enslaved the Israelites and tried wear them down and slow their growth, but they kept growing.
Exodus 1:12–14 NLT
12 But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became. 13 So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy. 14 They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands.
Then Pharoah decided to reduce the Hebrew Population with something similar to what we do with abortion. He ordered all male babies to be killed.
Exodus 1:15–22 NLT
15 Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah: 16 “When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.” 17 But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king’s orders. They allowed the boys to live, too. 18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives. “Why have you done this?” he demanded. “Why have you allowed the boys to live?” 19 “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women,” the midwives replied. “They are more vigorous and have their babies so quickly that we cannot get there in time.” 20 So God was good to the midwives, and the Israelites continued to multiply, growing more and more powerful. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. 22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River. But you may let the girls live.”
Shiphrah & Puah may have been supervisors over midwives… at least these two are given special mention. Midwives helped women give birth and took care of the babies until the mother was stronger. When Pharoah ordered the midwives to kill the babies, he was talking to the wrong people… the midwives were pro-life. These women showed great courage to take a stand for what they knew was right.
Against Pharaoh’s orders, these women spared the lives of Hebrew boys. Their faith in God gave them to courage to stand for what they knew was right.

Faith in God gives you the courage to stand for what is right

There are times when disobeying authority is proper. God does not expect you and I to obey those in authority when those in authority ask us to disobey God or His word.
The Bible filled with examples of those willing to sacrifice their lives in order to obey the Word of God.
Esther and Mordecai
Esther 3:2 NLT
2 All the king’s officials would bow down before Haman to show him respect whenever he passed by, for so the king had commanded. But Mordecai refused to bow down or show him respect.
Esther 4:13–16 NLT
13 Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. 14 If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” 15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.”
Shadrach, Meshack, Abednego
Daniel 3:16–18 NLT
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. 18 But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”
Whenever we are ordered to disobey God and His word, we must Obey God rather than human authority.

We must Obey God rather than human authority

Acts 5:29 NLT
29 But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.
The midwives were blessed by God, not because they disobeyed Pharoah, but because they obeyed God.

All of this set up the birth of Moses.

Exodus 2:1–2 NLT
1 About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married. 2 The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a special baby and kept him hidden for three months.
He isn’t named, but the baby is Moses and his parents are Jochebed and Amram. His brother was Aaron and his sister was Miriam. They hid him for three months and then
Exodus 2:3–4 NLT
3 But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River. 4 The baby’s sister then stood at a distance, watching to see what would happen to him.
This basket was made of papyrus reeds was fashioned by a woman who knew what she was doing. Egyptian River Boats are made out of this same stuff. So this small boat/Basket would have been difficult to notice hidden in the tall reeds.
Moses mother, Jochebed, knew it was wrong to kill her son even though she could not change Pharaoh’s law. So her only alternative was to hide him as long as she could and then place him the papyrus basket in the river. God used her courageous act to place her son, the Hebrew of His choice, in the house of Pharoah.
Do you ever feel like you are surrounded by evil and frustrated by how little you can do about it? Of course.

When faced with evil, look for ways to act against it.

Then trust God to use your effort, however small it seems.
Exodus 2:5–6 NLT
5 Soon Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, and her attendants walked along the riverbank. When the princess saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it for her. 6 When the princess opened it, she saw the baby. The little boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This must be one of the Hebrew children,” she said.
Pharaoh’s daughter is probably the daughter of Ramses Thutmose II. He was a particularly cruel king and made life miserable for the slaves. This also matches the dates of the Exodus.
Exodus 2:7–9 NLT
7 Then the baby’s sister approached the princess. “Should I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” she asked. 8 “Yes, do!” the princess replied. So the girl went and called the baby’s mother. 9 “Take this baby and nurse him for me,” the princess told the baby’s mother. “I will pay you for your help.” So the woman took her baby home and nursed him.
Miriam, Moses sister, noticed that Pharaoh’s daughter had found Moses, so she took the initiative to suggest a nurse for the baby who could care for the baby until it was older. Miriam approached the princess of Egypt and offered to help her find a nurse and got employment for her and her mother. Their family was re-united.

Special opportunities come along unexpectedly so don’t let fear of what might happen cause you to miss an opportunity.

Be alert for opportunities God gives you and take full advantage of them when they come along.
God used Jochebed to save Moses and preserve him to save the people of Israel… by leading them out of Egypt.
God doesn’t need much from us to accomplish his plan for our lives. Focusing on our human predicament may paralyze us because the situation may appear humanly impossible. But concentrating on God and his power will help us see the way out.
Right now you may feel unable to see through your troubles. Focus instead on God, and trust him for the way out. That is all he needs to begin his work in you.
Exodus 2:10 NLT
10 Later, when the boy was older, his mother brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son. The princess named him Moses, for she explained, “I lifted him out of the water.”
Related Media
See more
Related Sermons
See more