Hope Deferred

HOPE DEFERRED

Exodus 5-6:18

Which is more difficult –

-To live without hope?

-Or to catch a glimpse of hope only to have it disappear?

God’s people were given a glimpse of hope in chapter 4:27-31 –

-They heard the Word of the LORD, saw the signs, believed, and bowed their heads in

worship.

-But we will see in their story that things will get worse before they get better.

-Pharaoh isn’t going to give them up easily!

Read Exodus 5:1-21

Pray

Let My People Go

Pharaoh’s glory depended on the vastness of his spectacular cities which featured –

-Impenetrable defense walls – some 60 feet high!

-Elaborate homes and government buildings.

-Most famously, the pyramids, which were extravagant tombs of past Pharaohs.

These spectacular cities depended on the mass production of bricks –

-It is estimated that one of the pyramids alone consists of 24.5 million bricks!

This mass production of bricks depended on the slave labor of the Hebrews –

-For years – over two generations – through their own blood, sweat, and tears, the

Children of Israel slaved away to make Pharaoh and Egypt great –

-James Pritchard – “(the Hebrew slave) is dirtier…than pigs from teaching under his mud.

His clothes are stiff with clay; his leather belt is going to ruin. Entering into the wind, he

is miserable…His sides ache, since he must be outside in a treacherous wind…His arms

are destroyed with technical work…What he eats is the bread of his fingers, and he

washes himself only once a season. He is simply wretched through and through.”

As Pharaoh, his power, and his glory went up, the Children of Israel sank down in misery and

despair.

-But them came Moses – some, no doubt, remembered him from before –

-He brought a message of redemption!

-The LORD saw their misery, heard their cries, remembered His covenant with

their fathers and has come down to save!

-Just put yourself in their sandals –

-To them, this is the eve of redemption!

-A time to anticipate the forthcoming celebration of redemption!

2

Pharaoh Doubles Down

Pharaoh is not about to let his free labor – along with his glory – to just walk out the door!

-His blasphemous response to Moses is worth noting –

-v. 2 – “But Pharaoh said, ‘Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice and let

Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.’”

The Pharaoh’s believed they were gods –

-The Egyptians believed that the Pharaohs were half man and half god and after 30 years

of ruling there was a ceremony to declare that they were fully god.

Pharaoh wants to show his superiority over a rival god (the LORD) by displaying his absolute

power over the people –

-He doesn’t require more productivity but makes the same productivity more

burdensome and painful by taking away the supply of straw for the brinks!

-It’s like he is saying, “You won’t have any time to even think about your God as I keep

you busy at work!”

Hope Deferred

Reality sets in the leaders of the Children of Israel as they realize not only is redemption not

forthcoming, but the misery index is also going way up!

-And they do something that will become a pattern throughout the rest of Exodus –

-They come to Moses and complain.

-They will ask over and over – “What are you doing?” We had it better before you!”

-Moses makes things worse!

And according to the pattern, Moses will complain to God –

-vs. 22-23 – “Then Moses turned to the LORD and said, ‘O LORD, why have you done evil

to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your

name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.’”

Proverbs 13:12 – “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”

-Hope deferred makes the heart sick.

-The people are sick –

-They tell Moses to get lost!

-Moses is sick –

-LORD, you haven’t delivered your people at all!

The LORD’s Response

There will be times in their story that God will respond with discipline – sometimes harsher

than others – (Moses won’t be allowed in the Promised Land because of his sin.)

-But notice this time the LORD doesn’t discipline or even rebuke the people –

3

-Their faith is young and tender and untried.

-God knows what they need – as He always does.

-God responds with a promise, a three-fold promise –

-6:1 – God says, “I will.”

God’s Three-fold Promise

A promise is “an expressed assurance on which expectation is to be based.”

-A promise has a present and future component –

-It is a present assurance that is rooted in a future expectation.

-It is a present reassurance that is rooted in future reward.

-Illustration of a promise…

A promise is only as good as the character of the one who makes the promise –

-Back to the illustration…

-Notice in the text we just read that, in the middle of His three-fold promise, that God

emphasizes the trustworthiness of His Name –

-vs. 2a-3 – “…I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as

God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them.”

So, God revealed Himself to their Fathers, Abraham, Issac, and Jacob as God Almighty –

-This is El-Shaddai = God Most High; God above all gods

-Those Fathers lived at a time where everyone had their gods –

-The Chaldeans had their gods; the Egyptians had their gods, the Canaanites

had their gods…

-God revealed Himself as the God above all gods –

-That would be enough to rest in His promises!

-To Moses and the Children of Israel, God revealed His name “Yahweh” –

-The Almighty who hears, sees, remembers, and comes down to save!

To know God as “Yahweh” requires Egyptians enslavement –

-You could know Him as God Almighty without enslavement, but you couldn’t know Him

as the LORD without enslavement…

-Without the darkness of enslavement, you couldn’t see the light of His Name

1 – Promise of Vindication – v. 1

-See it again in verse 1 – “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh.”

-That should turn your blood to ice!

-After years of hurting my people –

-After years of persecution and enslavement and oppression

-After all the misery, sorrow, pain, hardship that has been afflicted on my

people –

-Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh!

4

-Hebrews 10:30, 31 – “For we know him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine; I will

repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into

the hands of the living God.’”

-God not only sees and knows the afflicted, but He sees and knows the afflicters –

-God will bring Pharaoh to account for his atrocities –

-And the vindication of His people is complete –

-It is not only deliverance, but the way they will be delivered –

-v. 1 – “For with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong

hand he will drive them out of his land.”

-Pharaoh flexed his muscle to afflict, now he becomes God’s servant and is the

means of the people’s release!

-What will God do?

-Crush his nation, kill his firstborn, and destroy his army!

-The wrath of God is for the comfort and vindication of His people.

-The Church of Jesus has been an afflicted church –

-The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church – Tertullian

-Every offense will be accounted for – this is the promise of God and the hope of

His people…

2 – Promise of Covenant – vs. 2-5

(Read verses 2-5)

-The Covenant Promise of land –

3 – Promise of Ultimate Redemption – vs. 6-8

(Read verses 6-8)