God Has Spoken

Old Testament: Psalm 105
New Testament: Acts 7:15-41

God Has Spoken
“From a Family to a Nation”
Exodus 1:1-22 and 2:23-25

   The purpose of this sermon series is to reveal WHO God is by how He has spoken in time and in history, and in so doing, to reveal WHAT God is doing for our redemption.

• In Ephesians 1:9ff, the Apostle Paul said God made known to him the “mystery” of His will – in essence the underlying purpose for the creation of mankind.
• “That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ!”

   God spoke in Creation – “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth His handwork. Day unto day uttereth speech and night unto night knowledge.” – Psalm 19:1-4

• God spoke all creation into being, including mankind.
• God’s “SPOKEN WORD” became flesh and dwelt among us as Jesus Christ, the Son of God – “all things were created by Him and for Him…and by Him all things consist.” – Colossians 1:15-19

   God spoke in Human History – In the Book of Genesis, we hear God’s voice in four events:

• The creation of the world, the fall of man, the worldwide flood, and His division of the people into nations.
• What began in Genesis 1-2 with Adam and Eve in a garden ended in Genesis 50 with Joseph in a graveyard.
• The conclusion: “Left to himself, man will always choose what is evil. Therefore, he is incapable of saving himself. Therefore, he needs a Redeemer!”
• The Book of Exodus reveals God’s next step in His plan for man’s redemption.

   God is speaking today – Perhaps the loudest words God is speaking to this “wicked and perverse generation” is His silence.

• God’s silence causes those who are weak in the faith to question God’s goodness and mercy.
• God’s silence causes those who are strong in the faith to “be still”; “to wait”, and “to pray”, that they might have ears to hear when God speaks again.

   God has spoken in the future – Not only does God know the end from the beginning, but He ordained it, and His plan is unfolding as it was recorded, even before the foundation of the world.

• Our purpose is not to condemn the world for its evil, or to try to save the world from the coming judgment.
• Our purpose is to preserve and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ; to be His voice to our own families, and to be His witnesses to those He is calling unto Himself.

   The closing verses of Genesis describe a true family reunion, with confession, repentance and forgiveness – Gen. 50:19-26

• Joseph exhibited God’s forgiveness not only by pardoning his brothers for their evil actions, but by committing to take care of them, their families and their future families.
• Joseph died expecting God to carry out His promises, and 400 years later, Moses carried Joseph’s remains out of Egypt, and Joshua buried them at Shechem.

   On the surface, the Book of Exodus is the account of Israel’s 400 years of slavery in Egypt and their miraculous deliverance.

• There are at least 15 parallels to the journey of the Christian life from salvation to glorification.
• Exodus covers four periods in the history of the nation of Israel: Their bondage, their deliverance, their discipline, and their legislation and organization.
• God’s purpose in this process was to develop His people from a family into a nation.

1. A Family Reunited – Exodus 1:1-7

• Verse 7 – “And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied…the land was filled with them.”

   When Joseph told Pharaoh that his family was without food because of the famine in Canaan, Pharaoh allowed Jacob and his family to settle in the area of Goshen, where they could raise their sheep and help manage Pharaoh’s cattle.

• Joseph’s family enjoyed their new life in their new land for 30 years, until three things changed their relationship.
  • Verse 6 – Joseph died, and all his generation
  • Verse 7 – The number of people grew from 70 to more than 600,000 men over the age of 20
  • Verse 8 – A new Pharaoh became King of Egypt, who had no respect for the work Joseph had done for Egypt, and who feared the Israelites would revolt against them in a time of war, and leave.
• The new Pharaoh introduced a plan to keep the Israelites as slaves, but to reduce the growth of their population, which was totally opposite from God’s plan.

2. A People Refined – Exodus 1:8-22 –

• Verse 12 – “But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew.”

Pharaoh began with hard labor – Vs 9-12 –

• He worked them as slaves to build two storage buildings.
• They worked in the mud pits making bricks, carpenters, stonecutters and masons, cementing the stones together.
• The harder the people worked, the more they multiplied.

Pharaoh increased their labor – Vs 13-14 –

• Where before they were furnished the straw to make bricks, now they were forced to find their own straw, yet make the same number of bricks each day.
• Whatever their labor, they were forced to work harder and faster to meet the ever-increasing daily quotas.    

Pharaoh told the Midwives to kill male babies – Vs 15-21

• The Midwives feared God more than Pharaoh and let the male babies live.
• Because of their faith, God gave them husbands, children of their own, and recorded their names in the Bible.

Pharaoh orders ALL male babies to be killed – Vs 22

• Pharaoh’s goal was not the reduction of the population.
• Satan was using Pharaoh to destroy the channel of the Promised Seed.

3. A Nation Redeemed – Exodus 2:23-25

• Verse 24 – “And God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.”

   The bitterness the Israelites had endured achieved God’s purpose in their heart; to cause them to cry out unto Him, and to long for the Land of Promise, and God responded in three ways:

• He heard their groaning – God hears the prayers of His people.
• He remembered His promise – God answers the prayers of His people according to the promise of His Word.
• He acted on their behalf – God often waits until we are at the end of ourselves, with no place to turn. Then He SPEAKS; He intervenes in the events of our lives, and shows us His mercy and His grace – He becomes our Deliverer!