The Deliverer God Prepared

The Deliverer God Prepared 

Exodus 2:11-25

 

 

Exodus 1–2:10 records how God prepared a deliverer for His people despite Pharaoh’s determined efforts to prevent it.

 

Pharaoh attempted to control the Hebrew population through slavery and the murder of Hebrew baby boys (Exodus 1). God had other plans.

 

In a remarkable display of God’s sovereignty, Pharaoh’s own daughter became the means by which Moses was preserved and raised (Exodus 2:1-10).

 

When she named him Moses, she did so because she had drawn him out of the water (Exodus 2:10). It was an appropriate name for the child she rescued. Yet unbeknownst to her, God was preparing a much greater “drawing out.” God was about to draw an entire nation out of slavery.

 

More than two million people would eventually be delivered through the man who had first been lifted out of the Nile. Every generation since has retold the story of God’s mighty deliverance through Moses.

 

In Exodus 2 we begin to see God’s preparation of the deliverer.

 

First, we see Moses’ early training.

 

Moses was nursed by his Hebrew mother and then raised in Pharaoh’s household (Exodus 2:7-10). According to Acts 7:22, he received the finest education available in the ancient world. He became a man of learning, influence, and ability.

 

Exodus 2:11 tells us that “many years later” Moses went out to visit his people. Acts 7:23 reveals that he was forty years old at this point.

 

The Hebrew expression translated “grown up” carries the idea of becoming great. By the age of forty, Moses had become great in the eyes of Egypt. He possessed education, position, influence, and ability. He knew he was a Hebrew, and Acts 7:25 indicates that he understood God had called him to deliver his people.

Acts 7:25 (NKJV) “For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.

 

Moses was educated, capable, and confident. He seemed ready for the task.

 

Yet everything fell apart.

 

Seeing an Egyptian mistreating a Hebrew slave, Moses killed the Egyptian (Exodus 2:11-12). The following day, when he attempted to intervene between two Hebrews, he was rejected with the question, “Who made you a ruler and judge over us?” (Exodus 2:13-14).

Exodus 2:13-14 (NKJV) 13 And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why are you striking your companion?” 14 Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” So Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!”

 

The Hebrews rejected him. The Egyptians sought to kill him (Exodus 2:15).

Exodus 2:15 (NKJV) When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.

 

Hebrews 11:24-25 tells us the deeper issue. Moses had chosen to identify himself with God’s people rather than enjoy the privileges of Pharaoh’s house. His murder of the Egyptian became the excuse, but the real issue was his identification with the Hebrews.

Hebrews 11:24-25 (NKJV) 24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,

 

As a result, Moses fled into the wilderness.

 

For the next forty years he tended sheep in Midian (Exodus 2:15-22). These years were not wasted years. They were years of preparation.

 

At forty, Moses thought he was ready.

 

At eighty, Moses thought he was incapable.

 

When God appeared to him at the burning bush, Moses responded with the question, “Who am I?” (Exodus 3:11).

Exodus 3:11 (NKJV) But Moses said to God, “Who [am] I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

 

Could this be the same man who forty years earlier had acted so boldly?

 

God had used the first forty years to teach Moses the wisdom of Egypt. He used the second forty years to teach Moses dependence upon God.

 

Both were necessary.

 

God was preparing a deliverer, but the deliverance would not be accomplished through human greatness. Many years later, Zechariah would summarize this principle in a single statement: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit” (Zechariah 4:6).

Zechariah 4:6 (NKJV) … ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.

 

God was teaching Moses that the work ahead would not be accomplished by education, influence, or personal strength. It would be accomplished by the power of God.

 

At the same time God was preparing the deliverer, He was also preparing the people to be delivered.

 

Acts 7 reminds us that Israel initially rejected Moses (Acts 7:35). The same chapter contains Stephen’s stern rebuke concerning Israel’s long history of resisting God’s work (Acts 7:51).

Acts 7:35 (NKJV) “This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one God sent [to be] a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush.

 

Acts 7:51 (NKJV) “[You] stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers [did,] so [do] you.

 

When Moses first attempted to help his people, they wanted nothing to do with him.

 

Forty years later things were different.

 

By the end of Exodus 2, the suffering of the Israelites had become unbearable. They were groaning under their bondage and crying out to God (Exodus 2:23-25). When God speaks to Moses in Exodus 3, He repeatedly refers to hearing their cries and seeing their affliction (Exodus 3:7-10).

Exodus 3:7 (NKJV) And the LORD said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who [are] in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.

 

The people who once rejected Moses had now reached the point where they knew they could not save themselves.

 

The deliverer was ready.

 

The people were ready.

 

God’s time had come.

 

It is at this moment that God reveals Himself to Moses as “I AM” (Exodus 3:14).

Exodus 3:14 (NKJV) And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

 

This is God’s personal covenant name. We rightly think of Him as Creator, Provider, Shepherd, Savior, and King. Yet in humanity’s greatest moments of weakness and need, we discover the comfort of the God who simply says, “I AM.”

 

He is everything His people need Him to be.

 

God still works deliverances today, and they still follow the same pattern.

 

Those whom God uses must learn that His work is accomplished through His power rather than their own abilities. Knowledge, training, and experience are valuable, but they are never sufficient. God’s servants must learn dependence upon Him.

 

Likewise, those who are delivered must come to the end of themselves. As long as we believe we can save ourselves, we will never truly seek God’s salvation.

 

This points us directly to Jesus Christ.

 

Moses was a deliverer, but Jesus is the Deliverer.

 

Moses delivered Israel from Pharaoh. Jesus delivers sinners from sin, death, and judgment.

 

The Exodus stands as one of the greatest acts of deliverance in history, yet it points forward to a greater deliverance accomplished through Christ.

 

Acts 4:12 reminds us that salvation is found in no one else. There is no other name by which we must be saved.

Acts 4:12 (NKJV) “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

 

There are two mistakes people commonly make.

 

One is believing that once we have been delivered, we can deliver others through our own wisdom and strength.

 

The other is believing we can deliver ourselves.

 

Scripture repeatedly teaches a far simpler truth.

 

Romans 10:13 tells us that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Romans 10:13 (NKJV) For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

 

That is the pattern we see throughout the Exodus account. God heard the cries of His people and acted according to His covenant promises. The miracles that followed were demonstrations of His power and faithfulness.

 

The same God still hears those who call upon Him today.

 

If you need deliverance, call upon Him.

 

If you need grace, call upon Him.

 

If you need strength, call upon Him.

 

If you need a miracle today, call on Him, just call.

The Deliverer Pharaoh Raised

 The Deliverer Pharaoh Raised

Exodus 2:1-10

 

 

Today we begin with the story of a young Levite couple living in one of the darkest periods of Israel’s history.

 

Pharaoh feared the growing population of the Israelites and sought to destroy them. First, he oppressed them with forced labor. When that failed, he ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill the baby boys at birth. When that also failed, he commanded that every Hebrew baby boy be thrown into the Nile.

 

It was during this time of persecution that a Levite man and woman married and started a family. We later learn their names were Amram and Jochebed (Exodus 6:20). They already had two children when another son was born.

Exodus 6:20 (NKJV) Now Amram took for himself Jochebed, his father’s sister, as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram [were] one hundred and thirty-seven.

 

Exodus tells us that when Jochebed saw her baby, she recognized that he was a fine child. Stephen later says that he was “well pleasing in God’s sight” (Acts 7:20). Every mother sees something special in her child, but God had a unique purpose for this baby.

Acts 7:20 (NKJV) At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father’s house for three months.

 

Jochebed could not bring herself to obey Pharaoh’s wicked command. She hid her son for three months. Eventually, however, she could hide him no longer.

 

At this point we discover that Amram and Jochebed were ordinary people. They were not royalty, military leaders, or wealthy citizens. God often delights in using ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.

 

Jochebed made a small basket from papyrus reeds and coated it with bitumen and pitch to make it waterproof. Then came the heartbreaking moment. She placed her baby inside and set the basket among the reeds along the Nile.

 

She could not control what would happen next, but she entrusted her son to God.

 

Moses’ older sister watched from a distance. Soon Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river. She noticed the basket and had it brought to her. When she opened it, she found a crying baby boy.

 

Immediately she recognized that he was one of the Hebrew children. Yet instead of obeying her father’s decree, her heart was moved with compassion.

 

At just the right moment, Moses’ sister approached and offered to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the child. Pharaoh’s daughter agreed.

 

The irony is remarkable.

 

The woman chosen to nurse the baby was his own mother.

 

Even more remarkable, Pharaoh’s daughter paid Jochebed to care for her own son. The very household that had ordered his death now provided for his protection and upbringing.

 

When the child was older, Jochebed brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son. She named him Moses because she drew him out of the water. Stephen later tells us that Moses was educated in all the wisdom of Egypt and became mighty in words and deeds (Acts 7:21-22).

Acts 7:21-22 (NKJV) 21 “But when he was set out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son. 22 “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.

 

Think about what God has done.

 

Pharaoh is trying to destroy Israel, yet God places Israel’s future deliverer inside Pharaoh’s own household. Pharaoh unknowingly finances, protects, and educates the man who will one day confront him and lead God’s people to freedom.

 

This is more than irony. This is the sovereign hand of God.

 

A theme runs throughout Scripture: what the enemies of God intend for destruction, God often transforms into the means of deliverance.

 

We see this pattern repeatedly.

 

In the beginning, the serpent deceived Eve and led humanity into sin (Genesis 3). Cain murdered Abel, and it may have seemed that the promised seed had been cut off. Yet God raised up Seth (Genesis 4:25).

 

Human wickedness increased until only Noah remained faithful. The world was judged through the flood, but God preserved Noah and his family (Genesis 6-9).

 

After Babel, humanity united in rebellion against God, but God raised up Abraham and established His covenant purposes through him (Genesis 11-12).

 

Centuries later, a virgin descended from Abraham gave birth to Jesus. When King Herod sought to kill the infant boys of Bethlehem, the Child escaped (Matthew 2).

 

Eventually, the enemies of Christ succeeded in crucifying Him. Satan must have thought he had finally won.

 

But three days later, Jesus rose from the dead.

 

The cross that appeared to be Satan’s greatest victory became the instrument of his defeat. The resurrection publicly declared Christ’s triumph over sin, death, and the powers of darkness.

 

The cross upon which the serpent meant to have his final victory has become the symbol of his final defeat.

 

We see the same principle in the book of Esther.

 

Haman hated Mordecai and planned his execution. He even built the gallows on which Mordecai would hang (Esther 5). Yet God reversed the situation. Haman was forced to honor Mordecai publicly, and in the end Haman himself was executed on the very gallows he had prepared (Esther 6-7).

 

Scripture repeatedly reminds us that God is not mocked. Those who oppose Him may appear powerful for a season, but their plans never overthrow His purposes.

 

This truth should encourage believers today.

 

We live in a world filled with confusion, corruption, and rebellion against God. It is often tempting to think that evil is winning.

 

But Exodus reminds us that God is still on His throne.

 

When Moses floated helplessly in a basket, God’s plan was moving forward.

 

When Haman built his gallows, God’s plan was moving forward.

 

When Jesus hung upon the cross, God’s plan was moving forward.

 

And today, God’s plan is still moving forward.

 

That does not mean life will be easy. Israel still endured slavery. Mordecai still faced danger. Jesus still suffered the cross. But in every case, God was working through circumstances that appeared hopeless.

 

As Psalm 37 reminds us, we are not to fret because of evildoers. Instead, we are to trust in the Lord, delight in Him, commit our way to Him, and wait patiently for Him (Psalm 37:1-13).

Psalm 37:1-10 (NKJV) 1 [A Psalm] of David. Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb. 3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 

 

4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring [it] to pass. 6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday. 

 

7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret--[it] only [causes] harm. 

 

9 For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth. 10 For yet a little while and the wicked [shall be] no [more;] Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it [shall be] no [more.]

 

The Lord sees what His enemies are doing. He sees their plans, their schemes, and their rebellion. More importantly, He sees their end.

 

The God who preserved Moses, delivered Israel, protected His covenant people, and raised Jesus from the dead is still ruling today.

 

So take courage.

 

Trust Him.

 

Wait upon Him.

 

And remember that the God who turned Pharaoh’s palace into a training ground for Moses and turned the cross into the means of salvation is still able to turn the schemes of His enemies into instruments of His glory.

 

That is the God who cares for His people.

God Sent a Man Before Them

Exodus 1:6-12

 

 

Exodus 1:8 (NKJV) Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.

 

As we begin Exodus, we immediately encounter the shadow of Joseph. If we do not understand Joseph, we will not fully understand Exodus. Previously, we looked at the opening verses of Exodus and considered the family that became the nation of Israel, God’s own special people. As we see how God worked in the life of this family, we will gain a greater understanding of God and His works. Here again is the family tree.

 

 

 

Joseph was a chosen vessel of God, used to prepare the way for the family of Israel to be protected and multiplied in Egypt. Joseph’s story is not merely about a man betrayed by his brothers. It is about the hidden providence of God, the God who protects and multiplies us.

 

Joseph was the eleventh son of Jacob (Israel), the first son of Jacob’s wife Rachel. Jacob loved Rachel uniquely, and Joseph, Rachel’s firstborn son, became the object of Jacob’s favoritism. Jacob made this painfully obvious to everyone when he gave Joseph a “coat of many colors.

 

To understand how deeply Jacob favored Joseph, consider an incident that occurred many years later. By that time, Joseph was serving as prime minister of Egypt. During a time of severe famine, Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy food. Joseph tested his brothers by insisting they bring their youngest brother, Benjamin, to Egypt if they ever returned. Later,Joseph framed Benjamin for theft. 

 

The brothers all tore their robes in grief. They were not willing to abandon their little brother to slavery and imprisonment. Judah, the fourth son of Leah, pleaded with Joseph to punish him in Benjamin’s place. Listen to what Judah said concerning his father:

Genesis 44:27-29 (NKJV) 27 “Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons; 28 ‘and the one went out from me, and I said, “Surely he is torn to pieces”; and I have not seen him since. 29 ‘But if you take this one also from me, and calamity befalls him, you shall bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.’

 

Let’s look a little closer at this statement. Judah, Jacob’s fourth son, born by Leah, Jacob’s first wife, was quoting his father. Jacob says, “My wife bore me two sons.” With this statement, Jacob shows his heart. In Jacob’s heart, Rachel remained the love of his life, and Joseph and Benjamin held a uniquely treasured place in his affections. The “coat of many colors” was a visible symbol of Joseph’s exalted position in the family. Whenever Joseph wore it, the entire household was reminded of Jacob’s favoritism.

 

This favoritism produced deep bitterness among Joseph’s brothers. Therefore, Joseph was set apart from his earliest days. Joseph appears to have carried himself with youthful confidence, only intensifying his brothers’ resentment. When Joseph went out to check on his brothers while wearing the special coat, he was not dressed for field labor. The coat symbolized privilege, authority, and distinction.

 

Joseph was only seventeen years old when his brothers decided to kill him. Reuben intervened to spare his life, and eventually Judah suggested they sell him as a slave instead.

 

This is why Exodus tells us Joseph was already in Egypt before the rest of Jacob’s family arrived there.

 

A high-ranking Egyptian official purchased Joseph. Even as a slave, Joseph prospered. He eventually rose to become steward over his master’s household. God was preparing Joseph by teaching him responsibility, administration, leadership, and faithfulness.

 

But Joseph’s trials were far from over.

 

His master’s wife repeatedly tried to seduce him. Day after day, she urged him, saying, “Lie with me.” Joseph refused her advances and ultimately was falsely accused and thrown into prison.

 

Psalm 105 gives us insight into what Joseph experienced there:

Psalm 105:17-19 (NKJV) 17 He sent a man before them-- Joseph--[who] was sold as a slave. 18 They hurt his feet with fetters, he was laid in irons. 19 Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him.

 

Joseph suffered deeply. He was in chains, and the iron fetters hurt his feet. A literal translation of verse 18 says, “Iron hath entered his soul,” (YLT)

 

Iron passing through Joseph’s soul is not a reference to Joseph being as strong as iron. No, rather it tells of great, deep suffering. Joseph’s suffering was not merely physical. Pain entered the depths of his soul.

 

Yet Psalm 105 also reveals what God was doing through Joseph’s suffering. “Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the LORD tested him.” 

 

God was not merely preserving Joseph. God was preparing Joseph. 

 

Joseph suffered in obscurity for nearly a decade. Think about that. Years passed in darkness, chains, disappointment, and apparent abandonment. Yet all the while, God was shaping Joseph into the man He intended him to be.

 

Let us pause and consider suffering for a moment. Joseph’s suffering was not meaningless. God used suffering as a tool of preparation. 

 

Please consider the words of Scripture:

1 Peter 1:6-7 (NKJV) 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, [being] much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,

 

Notice Peter’s words carefully: “if need be, you have been grieved by various trials.”

 

That phrase “grieved by various trials” can sound mild to our ears, but the Greek word translated “grieved” speaks of deep emotional pain, severe sorrow, and anguish. It is used to describe the pain of childbirth.

 

Do not pass over this too quickly. Peter compares suffering to the refining of gold in fire. When you suffer, remember this: God’s people suffer greatly, but never meaninglessly.

 

Notice how 1 Peter 1:6 begins: “In this you greatly rejoice!” 

 

Compare this to James 1:2-4.

James 1:2-4 (NKJV) 2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have [its] perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

 

Although there are times when we feel abandoned or even think God is against us, Scripture teaches the opposite. God disciplines and trains His people because He loves them.

 

Jacob spoiled Joseph, but God shaped Joseph.

 

God took a favored and immature young man and forged him into a wise, faithful servant who would preserve nations and save his own family from destruction.

 

Please remember this: your suffering does not mean God has stopped loving you. Very often, suffering is one of the chief tools God uses to prepare His people for His purposes.

 

Even when sinful men intend evil against us, God is still at work.

 

We need to return to Psalm 105 because it reveals the great truth running beneath Joseph’s entire story.

Psalm 105:17 (NKJV) He sent a man before them-- Joseph--[who] was sold as a slave.

 

“He sent a man before them.” 

 

Long before Jacob’s family knew they would need deliverance, God had already prepared the means to preserve them.

 

Before the famine came, God had already sent Joseph.

 

Before Israel needed protection, God had already positioned Joseph.

 

Joseph later understood this and said to his brothers.

Genesis 50:20 (NKJV) “But as for you, you meant evil against me; [but] God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as [it is] this day, to save many people alive.

 

This is one of the great comforts of the Christian life. We are God’s people, but that does not exempt us from suffering. Rather, we trust that God works even through suffering for our good and for His glory.

Romans 8:28 (NKJV) And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to [His] purpose.

 

Joseph was called according to God’s purpose. Therefore, his suffering served a divine purpose.

 

And because this is true, we can obey the words of Christ even in the midst of fear, confusion, and pain.

John 14:1 (NKJV) “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

 

The same God who guided Joseph through betrayal, slavery, false accusation, chains, and prison is still ruling over the lives of His people today.

 

God had not forgotten Joseph.

 

God had not abandoned Israel.

 

God will never abandon you.

 

And God will never abandon His people.

 

We have this promise.

Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV) [Let your] conduct [be] without covetousness; [be] content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”