Bring My People out of Egypt
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February 8, 2015 |
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 "Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt" (Exodus 3:10).
Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
How the Israelites entered Canaan with belief in God's promise is similar to how God's children today take hold of Heaven by faith. I urge you to decide what you should do by looking now into the history of Israelites' conquering Canaan.
First of all, let's delve into how Israel was established and moved to and stayed in Egypt. We will also look into how Moses became the great leader of the sons of Israel.
1. The birth of Israel and the people's movement to Egypt
Abraham had a son named Isaac, and Isaac begot Esau and Jacob. Esau had the birthright to receive God's blessings as the first son, but he sold it to his younger brother Jacob for a bowl of lentil stew. Jacob longed for spiritual blessings and took hold of them even by force. God planned to fulfill His providence through the descendants of Jacob and refined him over a long period of time.
As a result Jacob received the new name, 'Israel,' and his descendants are the 'sons of Israel', that is, they are the Israelites. To make this one family a great nation, God used His amazing wisdom. God arranged for Joseph, the eleventh son of Jacob, to go to Egypt and prepared for him to save the country from the seven-year famine that prevailed in the Middle East. By receiving God's wisdom, he made preparation for the famine and saved the Egyptians.
The Pharaoh received such great grace from Joseph that he welcomed and accepted Joseph's family members, namely the Israelites who were also suffering from the famine, into Egypt. This way, the Israelites could stay in safety and even in comfort during the seven years of famine. They multiplied their numbers in Egypt.
The problem was that after the Pharaoh died a Pharaoh arose in Egypt who did not know about Joseph. This Pharaoh was afraid of the Israelites who had rapidly multiplied in number and he tried to keep them in check. He even ordered that all new-born Hebrew boys be put to death. It was a plan to destroy the Israelites as a whole. God had promised that Israel would form a great nation but instead they were in danger of being exterminated.
2. Moses humbled himself in the providence of God and became the leader of Israelites
Moses was born in this gloomy time. By the order of the Pharaoh, Moses would have been killed when he was born. But under God's guidance he was taken and raised by the princess, a daughter of Pharaoh. More amazingly, Moses' actual mother became his nurse-maid and brought him up.
All this was done within the plans of God the Almighty. God saved him from death and let him learn the best things in the palace of Pharaoh, and at the same time God let him be taught about his people and faith in God from his mother.
Though Moses was a prince of Egypt, he always had concerns about his people who were suffering. One day, he saw an Egyptian man beating a Hebrew, and in his outrage he killed the Egyptian. When this was revealed, Moses fled to the land of Midian. There he had an arduous life in the wilderness. His plans for his future and the hopes for his people were also gone.
In a sense, he became a man of little merit to fulfill God's plans. When he was a prince, he had authority to do something great for the people of Israel. But now, he was merely a fugitive and a lowly man. For him it seemed there was nothing he could do. Then what should we realize here?
In fulfilling His providence, God chose Moses not when he was confident as a prince of Egypt but when he had become humbled as a shepherd in the wilderness. This humble man, Moses, is the kind of person God can use. God achieves His providence through men who have broken down their thoughts, denied themselves completely, and obeyed God completely by relying on God alone. However, there is the need of trials to learn how to rely on God completely.
As for me, I was a confident man because I achieved my goals without fail once I decided to do them. I was confident about my ability and wisdom. I wanted to be a member of National Assembly and hoped that I would do many good things for my people. But God allowed for me to deny myself completely through seven years of diseases and poverty. I realized that there was nothing I was able to do and I had nothing that was mine not even my own life.
Then God came to me and healed me of all my diseases, and He called me as His servant. At that time I had no money, certainly not enough to open a church. I was not an articulate and persuasive speaker who was able to preach. I was too introverted to be a pastor. I was getting too old to enter into a theological seminary and my memory was poor. But God Himself called me and made me a pastor of power.
For Moses to obey God and fulfill His providence, he had to humble himself completely by remaining in the wilderness for forty years. During this time, Moses thoroughly realized that nothing could be done with his own wisdom, ability, or methods.
3. God showed His signs so that Moses could push forward with fulfilling His providence
Even while Moses was undergoing the refining trials in the wilderness, the persecutions and the slavery of Israelites in Egypt were still going on. The sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help rose up to God. God decided to save the Israelites and appeared before Moses. He said to Moses, "…so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt."
He was now in anguish. He was just a shepherd, and it was sure that Pharaoh wouldn't let the Israelites go. It was unlikely that even his own people would follow him.
God knew this Moses' troubled mind. He did not just send him, but also showed him evidence. When Moses followed God's instructions to throw down his staff, it turned into a serpent. When he took it by the tail, it turned into a staff again. When he put his hand in his cloak and took it out, his hand was leprous like snow. When he did it again, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. After seeing the signs of God, Moses left for Egypt with the staff, as God told him.
Spiritually, the 'staff' refers to faith. Just like people with weak legs can walk relying on a staff, we can do anything that is impossible with our own strength when we show faith in God the Almighty. Because Moses knew his shortcomings very well, he was also afraid and somewhat embarrassed, but only with faith in God he started the life-risking venture.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, God sent Moses and delivered the sons of Israel from Egypt. Ever since then, and for each era, God has sent His men to save His people.
Even today when the darkness covers the world, God wants to lead His people through His man who is obedient to Him. He wants him to testify to Him by manifesting His power, save countless people from this world that is comparable to Egypt, and take them into the Land of Canaan, which is the heavenly kingdom, the land flowing with milk and honey.
Therefore, I urge you to destroy all fleshly thoughts and speculations and to obey God completely. I pray in the name of the Lord that by doing so you will enter Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey, and eventually even enter into the most beautiful Heaven, New Jerusalem!
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