A Deliverer for Israel
The sermon illustrates God's intricate plan for Israel's deliverance through Moses, highlighting His wisdom in using unexpected means.
The preacher delves into the meaning of 'reign' (basileuo) in the Bible, emphasizing its implications of total unfettered authority and control. Paul figuratively uses 'reign' to describe death, righteousness, sin, and grace dominating various aspects of life. The sermon explores earthly and eschatological reigns, including the reign of Christ over Israel, believers reigning with Christ in the Millennium, and the future reign of believers on earth during the Messiah's Millennial reign. The preacher highlights the ultimate reign of God in righteousness unopposed forever.
Text
Consider Israel in their bondage. The same God who arranged the stage for the preservation of His people in Egypt in the time of famine, must now arrange the stage for their deliverance some four hundred years later. This time the purposes of God were wrapped up in a little baby named Moses. Yet behold the "weakness" and the "foolishness" of God's ways. He puts it in the heart of Amram and Jochebed to make a little fragile ark out of flimsy reeds, and set the ark adrift on the backwaters of the Nile! What foolishness!
And yet what majesty of wisdom For God had it all arranged: Moses, the great Deliverer, was to be reared in the house of Pharaoh; and Moses' mother, from a very poor and enslaved family, would be paid wages for nursing her very own son.
And so the ONE CHILD in all Israel upon whom the special purposes of God rested would be raised with the protection of the power of Egypt... while at the same time all the wrath of Pharaoh was poured upon the little captive nation, and the male children of Israel were being slain.
Sermon Outline
- I points: - Israel's bondage in Egypt - God's preservation of His people - The significance of Moses' birth
- II points: - God's unconventional methods - The role of Amram and Jochebed - The fragile ark on the Nile
- III points: - Moses as the Deliverer - Raised in Pharaoh's house - God's wisdom in apparent foolishness
- IV points: - The contrast of power and oppression - Pharaoh's wrath against Israel - God's protection over His chosen
Key Quotes
“Yet behold the 'weakness' and the 'foolishness' of God's ways.” — George Warnock
“What foolishness! And yet what majesty of wisdom.” — George Warnock
“Moses, the great Deliverer, was to be reared in the house of Pharaoh.” — George Warnock
Application Points
- Trust in God's plans, even when they seem foolish or weak.
- Recognize the importance of family and heritage in God's purposes.
- Understand that God's deliverance often comes through unexpected circumstances.