Bible Materials

Exodus 7-8

by James Seongyong Lee   02/17/2019   Exodus 6:28~8:32

Message


Let My People Go

Exodus 6:28-8:31

Exodus 7:16 Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.

 

Is there anyone who has ever been a slave and lived as a slave? Nobody is here. Who are slaves? Slaves have no freedom, no future, and no hope. Nobody wants to live as a slave. But the Bible speaks clearly. Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. When we sin, we live a slave-like life that we hate. Therefore, as possible as we can, we must live life free from sin. But we do not know what sin is, and sometimes we easily commit sin. There are many things like Pharaoh around us who tries to govern us and keep us as slaves. Through today's passage, we will find out what kinds of Pharaoh we have and what sin we are not aware of and easily commit. And I pray that we may learn how we can live a life freed from Pharaoh and sins which make us as slaves.

 

So, from now on, we will go to Egypt, the world's most developed country and the greatest Pyramid country in the world at that time. There are two people who are the main actors of the today's Bible: Moses and Pharaoh. Who was Moses? Moses was an 80-year-old shepherd, who was a poor slave whose possession was nothing but only one staff with faltering lips. On the other hand, who was Pharaoh? He was the emperor of the Egypt empire, one of the best in the world at that time. He was a god-like god who was revered as a sun god. But Look at Exodus 7:1. “Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. God said that he would make Moses who was powerless with faltering lips God to Pharaoh. How could he do so?

First, God uses a humble person who comes to God in the time of trouble. Was Moses a perfect man who experienced no failure? No. He was not. When Moses first came to Pharaoh and preached the word of God, he received a ridicule and failed. Instead of liberating his people, he gave them more suffering. How do people react when they experience such a suffering and a failure? They blame others. And they become angry because of their pride. But Moses did not. Look at Exodus 5:22.

“Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me?”

Moses returned to the Lord. He returned to God. Moses prayed to God with cry. What kind of person does God use?

God uses people who come to Him and pray in their failures and difficulties. God uses people who resolve their troubles and difficulties by his Word and through prayer. But look at Pharaoh. What did Pharaoh do when he was troubled? Did he come to God when he got troubles? No! Look at Exodus 7:11a. "Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers." Pharaoh sought to solve troubles in human ways by relying on people rather than God. And when God changed the Nile River into blood and gave plagues on Egyptians, Pharaoh relied on the Egyptian magicians rather than God.

  Sometimes we experience failures and meet difficulties. It makes us very difficult and painful. But in some ways it is an opportunity for us to meet our God. And it makes us even greater and stronger. Moses went to God with difficulties and solved it the way God wanted. But what about Pharaoh? He did not acknowledge God or come to Him, but he relied on human ways and human things. Despite the four plagues and sufferings, he did not submit to God. Pharaoh was a free man and a mighty king, but when he did not come to God and did not acknowledge God, he became a slave of limited himself, his stubbornness, grudge, evil and sinful sorcerers and magicians. We are not much different from Pharaoh. There are a lot of times when we are just as well. What makes us proud or stubborn like Pharaoh which prevent us from coming to God?

  There are our pride, our fixed idea, ignorance, and desire for the world. Some people try to escape from fear of failure and difficulty by sleep. Others are looking for materials of the world when they are in trouble. As for me, I thought that the financial problems can be solved by abundance of my possession. When I was obsessed by material matters, I became a slave of material things. As I saw balance of my checking account, I experienced heaven and hell many times a day. And I wondered how I could make more money. While studying this passage, I repented that I have lived a life under slave mentality that relies on material more than God and turned to God. I pray that we may come to God and seek Him, and that all difficulties may be solved by relying on God not by depending on material things.

  Sometimes students may fail even though they studied very hard. When they have poor grades, they may deeply despair and become sad and then sleep in order to escape from pain and shame. Some students blame their lack of their abilities. Still other students blame their parents who did not support them properly. But what is their problem? The problem is not to depend on God, but to depend on themselves, on people and on the environment. If you have wrong attitude that depends on yourself, people, and the environment, you have no choice but to live a slave life driven by these things. God wants us to live a life that relies on God, but not a slave of life driven by visible result or human condition.

  God is the Creator who made everything out of nothing. Through the failure and difficulty in school study, God wants us to find our limitation and helps us to believe in God who created all things so that we may live with Him. Psalm 121:1 and 2 says. "I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. "I earnestly pray that God may transform each of us into a person who relies on God who created heaven and earth, not the one who relies on his own ability, environment, and people.

  Secondly, God uses a compassionate person who sees others' suffering more than himself and prays for their salvation. Look at verse Exodus 7:16. "Then say to him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness." Was it easy for Moses to come to Pharaoh and convey this message? It was not. It was not easy for slaves to ask their the master to free them without paying any price. Who was Pharaoh at that time? He was the most powerful and cruel king of the Egyptian Empire who had the most powerful army. Moses did it at the risk of his life by asking Pharaoh to release his slave people.

  "Let my people go!" "Let my people go!" How could Moses do these words that could cause his death? This would have been God's word to Moses to tell Pharaoh, but it would have been Moses' shepherd's heart for his suffering people. When there is such a shepherd's heart, he could have gone beyond his death and fear.

  God blessed heart of Moses. What difficulties does each of us have living in this world as a Christian? Especially, what are our difficulties when we live in this selfish individualistic world? People are busy and do not care about anyone, and sometimes we wonder why we should live for someone else. Who can acknowledge us when we spend money and precious time for serving God's flock of sheep teaching them with God's word? Who can give compensation for our sacrifice? Nobody does. People think that it is a wise choice to spend all the time and money for themselves in this comparative and egoistic world only for ourselves. They may think of how foolish we are when we spend our precious time and material for others who do not appreciate us.

  But think about Pharaoh. Even though Moses warned him that his people Egyptians would suffer unless he did not let Israel go, he did not listen. What result did Pharaoh receive when he did not listen to Moses out of his selfishness? Was he really happy? No. Even though he was the most powerful king of empire, he became the slave of the sin of selfishness, and his selfishness destructed himself as well as his own Egyptian people. So are we. When people live for themselves, they think that they are free and happy. But that is not true. They are dragged into slavery of selfishness, and it causes them suffer not only for themselves but also for their family and their nation. So one of Pharaohs who makes his slave these days is selfishness. God wants every one of us to live like great Moses who was not selfish but sacrificial for his people.

  Look at Matthew 28:19. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." What is meaning of the term "baptizing them"? It refers to liberating those who live in slavery of sins and death in the name of God and the Son and the Holy Spirit. God wants to use each of us like little Moses who freed those who suffer under the sin and death. It is a meaningful and valuable life when we have this great vision of God.

  I really experienced this when I went up to the UMSL campus for outreach in this week. Of course, it was not easy for me to go to campus. I was tired for work and when I thought about human situation, I was really miserable when I looked at my situation myself. I did not make big money in this country. I felt sorry that I barely earned for a daily portion. I wanted to live only for myself and my satisfaction. However, I denied it and went to the campus and prayed for all the students on campus. I prayed for all souls on campus to be released from slavery of sins and death and to live free lives in Jesus Christ. When I overcame myself and prayed for students and this country, a strange fire of love filled my heart and soul. Through this wonderful experience, I came to realize something new that I didn't experience before when I lived the selfish life. It is a selfish life for self is the empty and thirsty life without true satisfaction. Such a selfish life has no choice but to lead to slave life which destroy my joy, myself, my family, and my nation. When I prayed for other people and all souls of campus to be liberated from sufferings of sins and death like Moses, I was truly free from my selfishness, worries, fear, meaninglessness, and emptiness. When I prayed for others to be free from their sufferings as Moses did, I was filled with happiness, joy, and love.

Sometimes, we don’t know we are slaves of Pharaoh which is selfishness. However, if you want freedom from the selfishness of Pharaoh, please give your heart to pray for others, your campus, and your nation: "Let my people, Let my friends, Let my family go out of slavery of sins and death." Then you will experience great joy, freedom, and true meaning of your life.

  Third, God uses the one who displays the Lord is God. Why did God want to reveal Himself through the disasters of 4 plagues of Nile river, frogs, Gnats, and flies? Look at Exodus 7:3-5.

”But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, 4 he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. 5 And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.” (Exodus 7:3-5)

There were many idols in the kingdom of Egypt at that time. God made the Egyptians aware of how deceitful their idols were by punishing the idols they believed at the time. God is the Creator of all things. He is the sovereign Lord. Moses revealed God through perfect obedience to God.  We must obey all things to this God. And God made us realize who the true God is. As we apply this today, we must ask if we acknowledge God as God and obey Him and reveal Him as God in our lives every single moment.

  When we live as Christians, there are many times when we often hesitate to reveal God as God. We are difficult because of peer pressure in front of friends and teachers who oppose God. It is hard for Christians to say that sin is sin, and it is sometimes difficult to live a holy life against the sinful flow. But there is one thing that is clear. The ruler of the world is God. Can we control our lives? If we are the rulers of our lives, we can choose when and where we can die. But who among you can decide when and where to die? It is only God can decide where and when to take our lives. God is the Creator of our life. God is the ruler of the world. We study and do whatever to reveal the name of God as God.

  We must fight spiritual battle to reveal God as God. When we wake up, we must first praise and highly exalt Him saying "Thank God for giving me a new day" because he is the giver of the day. When we go to work or school, we may first pray to rely on God and to submit ourselves to Him not to this world, friends, or ourselves because he is the owner of our lives. We choose every day God as our God, not obey material, fear, people, and sinful desire as the ruler. We must obey God as a ruler.

  When Moses revealed God as God and obeyed Him, God worked through Him. Whenever we accept and submit God as our master and King, God will surely protect and keep us safe. We pray that the glory of God, the name of God, may be revealed through our lives.

  Through today's passage, we learned that even though we didn't see, there are many Pharaohs who tried to make us slaves such as selfishness. We have wrong attitude to depend on materials or people not God and our selfish desire. When we live like that, we cannot but be lived as a slave. I pray that all may live like little Moses who is a spiritual leader praying for others to be freed from their sufferings of sins and death by the name of Jesus not like slaves. I pray that all of us live a free life by relying solely on God. Like Moses, let us obey what God commands us, and reveal God as our Lord through our lives.


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