God's Grace in our Groanings

If you have a Bible, go ahead and grab it. Over the next 3 weeks we will be looking at Exodus 2:23-25, so really one verse a week, as today we will be focusing squarely on verse 23 but we will read all 3 verses each week. My title for this message is, “God’s Grace in our Groanings.” God’s ways are not our ways. His methods are not our methods and His wisdom surpasses all human wisdom. The way that man views one situation, God may view in an entirely different way. Man’s view of events and circumstances are limited but God’s view is total and unhindered. While man may only look at the ends of his situation, God not only looks to the ends, He knows the ends entirely and the means by which man is to get there. This is what we are going to see in our passage over the next few weeks. As we read these verses, we are going to see that man needs to be honest about the situation that he is in. In order to know God as we should, we need to know ourselves and our circumstances. As Calvin said at the start of his Institutes, our wisdom consists almost entirely in two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves and today, Lord willing, we will be able to make an honest assessment about ourselves. Lord willing, we will also grow in our appreciation of the grace of God. Before we get to our verses, it’s important to provide the background of what Moses and the people of Israel are going through at this point in the book of Exodus. The Israelites are oppressed under the hand of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. By this point, Pharaoh has given the order for all Hebrew baby boys to be killed and thrown into the Nile. This plan backfires on Pharaoh in providentially ironic way as he becomes the adopted grandfather of Moses, a Hebrew. Moses grows up in Pharaoh’s household and through a series of events that we don’t have time to look at, Moses eventually flees to Midian where he lives for 40 years. At this point in the book of Exodus, Moses has not yet returned to Egypt and the Jewish people continue to suffer under the hand of not just one Pharaoh, but a number of different Pharaohs. Other than a few years during the time of Joseph, the people of Israel have been oppressed by Pharaoh after Pharaoh after Pharaoh, each one likely worse than the last. Despite that reality, God has continued to be gracious to His people and it would be through their groanings that God’s grace would be more clearly revealed to them. Let’s go ahead and open in prayer and then we will read Exodus 2:23-25 but we will spend most of our time today in verse 23.

Exodus 2:23–25 (ESV)

During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

The Reality of Suffering

As we go through these verses, one of the first things that probably jumps out to us is the reality of suffering. We read in verse 23 that the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. The English language does not do a good enough job stressing the absolute distress of these people. These people are in an absolutely miserable situation. These people aren’t just groaning, they are moaning, they are shrieking out, they are calling out in just pure desperation for deliverance. These people aren’t just inwardly agonizing, they are projecting the extent of their hurt in all that they do. Suffering is real and no one is immune from it. As long as sin exists in the world, there will be suffering. The people of God are not immune from suffering and the presence of suffering within the life of the People of God does not indicate that God is not there or does not care about the things that they suffer. Understand that we as Christians are rational people. We do not deny the existence of suffering and I am hoping that our theology is strong enough that we understand that the title of Christian does not remove us from suffering. Pain is real. Hurt is real. Sorrow is very, very real. However, the People of God suffer very differently than the rest of the world. Yes we all suffer but we can go through suffering differently than anyone else. Christians are the only people who can go through suffering with the confidence that suffering will be used for the greater good. Christians are the only people who can confidently say, “There may be pain in the night but joy comes with the morning.” They are the only people who will be able to say with David in Psalm 30:11-12

Psalm 30:11–12 (ESV)

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;

you have loosed my sackcloth

and clothed me with gladness,

that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.

O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Can a non-Christian look at death and suffering in this way? No, because to them, this life is the best that it will ever get! Or if they believe in some other god, they agonize inwardly because they assume they’ve done something wrong and now they are being punished or if they could just muster a little more faith and good works, it will all stop. It is remarkable to me how throughout the centuries, Christians have gone to their deaths rejoicing. They have gone through suffering with singing, through pain with praise, through hurts with hallelujahs. Like Paul writes, we are sorrowful yet always rejoicing. I often think of the story of John Rogers, the first English martyr under the reign of Bloody Mary. Rogers was a contemporary of William Tyndale. After Tyndale was arrested and executed, Rogers carried on the work of translating the remainder of the Old Testament into English for the first time and it was released as the Thomas Matthew’s Bible. Eventually, Rogers was arrested for his preaching of the true Gospel and he was offered numerous opportunities to recant but never did. At the time of his imprisonment he had 10 children with another on the way. On the day of his execution he walked past the site of his old church and as he approached the site of where he would be burned, he looked up and saw his wife and his 10 children and in the arms of his wife was the 11th child that he had never even met. Rogers was given one more opportunity to recant of the protestant doctrine before being burned alive but he said, “That which I have preached, I will seal with my blood.” And it was said that as they lit the platform on which Rogers stood, he looked as if he felt no pain and as the fire reached his knees, he put his hands into the fire as if he was washing his hands. The French Ambassador to England at the time said that Rogers did not look like a man that was going to his execution, but looked like a man going to his wedding day. I’ve heard of Christians as they have been skinned alive say to their executioners, “Thank you for removing this physical garment so I may better put on my garments of righteousness.” I’ve heard of Christians that are about to be beheaded say, “You can remove my physical head but you will never remove me from my spiritual head, Christ.” What can we learn from this? That the people of God are not immune from suffering but they are able to go through it differently. Going back to our text, I want to point out another great lesson that we learn from verse 23: God alone as our source of rescue.

God Alone as Our Source of Rescue

Notice that verse 23 begins by referencing the death of the king of Egypt. When a leader dies or is removed from office, especially if they are a wicked and cruel leader, there is always the hope that his successor will be better. That was certainly the Israelites hope. The Pharaoh dies and they almost expect that the next Pharaoh may lighten their load. They aren’t necessarily expecting that they’ll be allowed to leave but I think they are hoping that the work load might decrease but that doesn’t happen. In fact, it seems likely that it may have even gotten progressively worse under this new Pharaoh. There is something very human in this, something that we all in some way practice. I know that there are several in the United States today, several in this church, that are counting down the days to the next election. Why? Because the hope is that whoever the next president is will be able to do something about the circumstances that we have found ourselves in. The thought is, “the next guy or girl will bring prices down, they’ll make inflation go down, they will stop the border crisis, they will fight for the lives of the unborn, they will do this and that to make our way of life easier or at least back to normal” but that’s not a guarantee. Things could get better under the next person but there is nothing to say that things won’t get worse. I know of several people who are hoping that Putin dies but there is no guarantee that the next guy will be any better, he may be even worse than Putin! What does this tell us? What did the Israelites learn in this situation? That if your hope is solely in another human being, you will always be disappointed. I love Lora and she does so much for me and our family but she’s an absolutely terrible God. The ultimate hope and the ultimate source of rescue is solely in God alone. Alec Motyer said that the Israelites had a new king, but still the old sorrows. What we see the Lord doing is something very strategic with suffering. Notice that it is through suffering that the people cry out to the Lord. They realize that Pharaoh isn’t going to rescue them, Egypt will not be their savior, another man will not be their redeemer! It is through weakness, it is through suffering, that man sees their need for God. I remember hearing Steven Lawson talk about the time where he was getting ready to propose to his wife and he went to this special jewelry store to look for a ring and he looked at several different ones but none of them jumped out to him. He asked the jeweler, “is this all you have?” And the jeweler reached under the counter and pulled out this black velvet pad and pulled the diamond out of the ring. The light hit that diamond in such a way that everything beautiful about that diamond just exploded, it was absolutely stunning. The diamond was already beautiful but the full extent of its beauty was not seen without that black pad. In the very same way, the Gospel is the most beautiful thing in the world but you will never be able to appreciate and see the full extent of its beauty without the backdrop of pain and suffering. Remember what C.S. Lewis said about pain and suffering? “God whispers to us in our pleasures but shouts in our pains. It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

The Usefulness of Sorrow (2 Cor 7:11)

As we see in these verses and as we see in the history of the people of Israel, there is a very real use for sorrows and suffering. It is through their sufferings that they cry out to the Lord for deliverance. It isn’t until this moment where the Israelites cry out to the Lord. Until this point, they relied on themselves, on the king of Egypt, on the gods of the Egyptians but see where that got them. They just found sorrow after sorrow after sorrow. It isn’t until they are brought down to nothing that God says, “Now you’re ready.” Martin Luther once said, “A man must be, as it were, bruised and broken by the Gospel; he must be humbled from the bottom of his heart; he must feel himself weak and frail, and wholly unable to do any thing of himself. He must fall prostrate before God, and cry, help me O omnipotent God, merciful Father, I am not able to help myself! Help, O Lord Christ, mine own help is nothing!” It is often through sorrows that God brings His salvation. Samuel Rutherford said, “Losses and crosses are the wheels of Christ’s triumphing chariot.” Acts 14:22 says that it is through many tribulations that we enter into the kingdom of God. One of the great mysteries of the Gospel is that God is able to use suffering for the greatest good in the lives of His people. The entire Christian faith is built on the reality of suffering if you think about it and salvation was not accomplished apart from suffering. In order for salvation to come, a sacrifice had to have been made. It was through the death of Christ that death is ultimately disarmed. The author of Hebrews says in Hebrews 2:9-10

Hebrews 2:9–10 (ESV)

But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.

Jesus is crowned with glory and honor not in spite of suffering and death but because He suffered and died! Do you see then why so many in the world struggle to understand the message of the Gospel? Do you see how it is folly to an unbelieving world? How people see it as weakness? Life is brought through death! Redemption through suffering! Kingship through servanthood! Power made perfect in weakness! Yet this is the path which God has put forth, the great mystery of the Gospel! You never realize just how much you have until Christ is all you have left and when Christ is all you have left, you realize just how little those things you once longed for have brought forth little to no lasting treasure. Don’t neglect the usefulness of sorrow in the hands of the all-powerful God. Paul recognized the usefulness of sorrow and suffering as he wrote to the Corinthians. He says in 2 Corinthians 7:10-11

2 Corinthians 7:10–11 (ESV)

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.

Do you hear what Paul is saying here? Godly grief is great gain! It produces great things in us. John Owen said, “Godly sorrow will constantly incite the mind unto all duties, acts, and fruits of repentance whatever; it is never barren nor heartless, but being both a grace and a duty, it will stir up the soul unto the exercise of all graces and the performance of all duties that are of the same kind.” Grief is often used to propel to the arms of grace. Sorrows spring us to the Savior. For the people of Israel, their happiness had departed, prosperity was gone, but it departed for a reason. It opened their eyes to that which they truly needed! You see, we should never look at worldly prosperity as a sign that things are right with our souls or a sign that we have all that we need. Prosperity is the very thing the devil offers to those that follow him but we know that is only fool’s gold. Are you suffering? Are you going through difficulties? Maybe that isn’t God’s way of hurting you but His way of ultimately prospering you. Perhaps it is His way of bringing you out of eternal bondage and into the promised land of Heaven. We may not always see what God is doing in our suffering but we do know that He is doing something. When we view all circumstances through the eyes of grace, then we can finally say with Paul in Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” It is through the furnace of affliction that the people of God shine brightest. 1 Peter 1:6-7

1 Peter 1:6–7 ESV

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

When gold goes through a flame, it removes all the impurities that are attached to it and that which remains is that which is truly valuable. The flame of affliction, the fires of sorrow are shaping and molding the people of God into that which will result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Christ. With the time we have left, I want to give you all 6 areas of application out of what we have read this morning.

Application of Verse 23

Bring your sorrows to the Lord

The first application is that we bring our sorrows to the Lord. We go to the Lord in prayer now and we call out for deliverance. Is there something that you want from the Lord? Ask Him! James says at the end of James 4:2, “you do not have because you do not ask.” Don’t just go to the Lord in prayer once, be a person of prayer. Pray without ceasing like the Apostle Paul says! The Exodus comes after the people cry out to the Lord and not before it.

Remember that God is no stranger to suffering

The second application is that we remember that our God is no stranger to suffering. No one has ever suffered like Christ has suffered. No one from so high has ever been brought so low. Sinless perfection dwelled amongst sinful mankind. He who knew no sin became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God. He that possessed all things possessed nothing. He that was ever before the loving presence of the Father was forsaken by the Father. He that is the exalted King over all became a suffering servant. He that’s presence graced the throne room of heaven didn’t have a home. He whom all of Heaven worshipped was hated and despised among men. The Creator and Sustainer is abhorred by His creation and those that He died to sustain. Jesus washed the feet of the disciples that would run away from Him. He that is eternal was born in a manger. He that created every little thing came into the world surrounded not by the elite and regal but by barn animals. No one from so high has ever come so low. God knows what it means to suffer because He Himself has suffered.

God never looks at your pain as if it was nothing

The third application or reminder is that God never looks at your pain as if it was nothing. He’s never uncaring or unkind and we will unravel this more over the next 2 weeks. I understand that there are people in here that are hurting, that are suffering. I’ve heard it put like this, all you have to do is live long enough and you will suffer. We serve a God who loves us. We serve a God that cares so much about the pain that sin and death causes that He wept at the tomb of a man that He was just moments away from raising back to life. God is not indifferent towards your suffering or powerless to do anything about it. The cross is our clearest sign that God is not indifferent towards suffering and the empty tomb is the clearest sign that He can do something about it. Remember, Christ did not come to save the elite that had it all together? He came to seek and save the lost. It isn’t the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick! He didn’t come for the righteous, He came for sinners!

If God cares about our greatest sorrow (sin) He surely cares for our smallest sorrows

The reality of the death and resurrection of Christ brings us to our fourth reminder or fourth application: In an argument from the greater to the lesser, if God cares about that which causes our greatest sorrow, sin and death itself, He surely cares for the smallest sorrows. If He is able to do something about our greatest sorrow: sin and death, He is certainly able to handle the sorrows that we face between now and when we take that first step into eternity but even if He does not remove the thorn in our flesh, we can trust that He has a reason for not doing so.

Look at your life through the eyes of God and what He is doing

The fifth application is for us to look at our lives through the eyes of God and what He is doing. If we know that all things are working for the good of those that love God then we know that there is nothing that we are going through that God is not carefully using to bring us closer to Himself. Even death is just the door by which we may receive that which is greatest. Death brings us to the throne of God. Death which many conceive to be the great loss of the universe is nothing but gain for the follower of Christ. Look at your life right now and instead of complaining of your circumstances, ask yourself what God is doing through those circumstances? Are you weak? See how God is all-powerful! Are you dying? See how Christ has the keys to death and is the way, truth, and the life! Are you hungry? Christ is the bread of life! Are you thirsty? Christ offers living water from the well that will never run dry! Are you stuck in darkness and shame? Jesus is the light of the world! Seeing things through the eyes of God is like putting on the ultimate pair of glasses. You may not always be aware of what those glasses are doing but you cannot see things as clearly and as they really are without them. When you look at things through the eyes of self, you will only be able to look at it through the lens of, “woe is me, why is that happening to me, I don’t deserve this!” But when looking through Christ-tinted lenses, you will be able to say, “ahah! There is a much greater purpose behind this than I realize!” And while you may not be able to fully discern exactly what God is doing in one situation or the other, you know that He is faithful and is doing something that will ultimately lead to that which is most important for you. Does this mean you will win 1 million dollars or will survive this illness? No but it does mean that as a Christian, you will never fail to possess that which is most important for you.

The commonality of pain in a world that needs to know Christ

Lastly, the existence of suffering in this world provides a great starting point in our conversations with others about the Gospel. There is a commonality that we all share with every other human being on this planet and that is that we all know pain and we all have experienced suffering. We know what it is like to go through pain but we also know what it is like to see it as a means of something far Greater. We can say to others, “I may not know exactly what you are going through, but I know Him who knows you better than you know yourself.” We may not share the same degree of suffering as someone else, but we do share the same basic problem: We all have sinned and fallen short of the holy God and we all experience the fallout from those choices and we all need a Savior. We know Him that has destroyed death forever and we know Him that will one day wipe every tear from the eye of every child of God. We know Him that will make new all that has been broken and we will never feel the weight of sin, death, loneliness, or pain any longer. We cry out now as we experience the bondage of our own Egypt but we confidently know that He hears our prayers and we will talk about that more next week and we will talk about what it means to be in covenant with the Lord our God. Let’s go to Him in prayer.

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