Exodus 4:18-20
TRANSCRIPT
In our previous message, we have learnt how God repeatedly told Moses ‘go, go, go’ and Moses repeatedly responded ‘but, but, but’. Moses complained that he was not eloquent, he was slow of speech and of a slow tongue. But that was totally irrelevant, because firstly, God had already told him what to say; the message was already given to him, all he needed to do was to be a messenger. In a sense, he need not be an orator, he just needed to be a faithful messenger. Just like all of us who have been called to share the Word of God, we need to be faithful messengers - people who will deliver God’s Word, proclaim God’s Word, in all His purity; that is what you and I must do.
Secondly, if God had called him, would He not give him the strength, wisdom and ability to accomplish the work that He had called him to do? Most certainly, right? But Moses’ rejection was not only irrelevant, but also disrespectful, because, indirectly, he was saying to God - “the reason why I am not eloquent, slow of speech and of a slow tongue, it is simply because you have made me in this way. You were the one who has created me and if you really wanted me to go to the Pharaoh, you could have dealt with my speech problem, which you didn’t.” In other words, it was all God’s fault that Moses was not able to do what God had called him to do. God had to rebuke him, and said in verse 11, “Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?” (Exodus 4:11) Which means, who gave us our eyes, our ears and our mouths? God did. If that be the case, then our abilities, inabilities or even disabilities are ordained by Him. God has made us the way He has made us for His glory. So dear friends, whatever abilities you have and even at times you may complain about your inabilities, for others they may have some inabilities too; we can all use whatever God has given to us and whatever God has made us to be for His glory.
Finally, Moses’ heart was exposed; his repeated objections revealed what was truly in His heart - the truth was that he did not want to go. Therefore he said to God, send someone else, send anyone you want to send, and by implication he meant, as long as it wasn’t me. God was angry with Moses and so He provided his brother Aaron to be his mouth, to speak on his behalf. So God would speak to Moses, and then Moses would speak to Aaron, and then Aaron would then speak to the people, repeating the words. But clearly, having Aaron to speak on behalf of Moses was not God’s first and initial plan for the Exodus. Since Moses had refused to trust and obey God, Aaron was brought into the picture, and Moses had to share the fullness of God’s blessings with him. That was what we had learnt in our previous message.
I. Moses approached Jethro before leaving for Egypt
Tonight, our title would be ‘Moses’ Return to Egypt’. Our first point is ‘Moses approached Jethro before leaving for Egypt’. Let us begin with verse 18, “And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive.” (Exodus 4:18). Jethro was the man who had given Moses a home in Midian, he had given his daughter to be married to Moses and he had given Moses a job to shepherd his flock. But Moses had received God’s call, and it was a higher calling - a call into the ministry that came from God Himself, therefore it was right for Moses to respectfully approach Jethro, his father-in-law, his employer, his benefactor, so to speak, to seek for permission before leaving for Egypt.
Dear friends, in some ways we Christians are just like Moses; when God saves us and calls us, we must follow Him, and at the same time, we must love our families as well. But our commitment to Christ must always come first, it demands an absolute allegiance that sometimes may conflict with our families’ expectations. Jesus said in Luke 14:26, most of us are familiar with this verse “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” Jesus did not mean that we should be hostile to our families, in fact, we should treat our families with respect, but, even the people we love the most - our parents, our husbands and wives, our children, our brothers and sisters - they should not prevent us from doing what God has called us to do. Remember, our commitment to Christ must always come first, it demands a total allegiance, and absolute allegiance.
This is important, especially when our loved ones are unbelievers; they do not understand our commitment to Christ, they will not understand some of the decisions we make. We cannot compromise our calling, but at the same time we love our parents; we do not want them to be frustrated, we do not want to antagonise them, and then they do not want to hear the message of the Gospel we preach to them, we want them to hear and then believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Humanely speaking, it is extremely difficult, but, if God has called us and we put Him first in our lives, first in our decisions, first in our commitments. He will surely help us, most definitely.
Allow me to share my testimony; when God first called me into full time ministry, I was working with my dad in his restaurant business. Day after day I would work with him, I was the one who helped him; I would drive my dad to work and then drive him back late in the night, I would be the one who would close up the shop and I would also be the one who would do all the physical hard work. My dad wanted me to take over the business, he was an unbeliever but God called me into full time ministry and I knew that there would be strong objections coming from him. So I prayed and prayed and prayed, how would I share with my dad that I would not work with him anymore, that I would be going to the Bible college? Finally, I gathered enough courage and I respectfully approached him and spoke to him, and told him how God had called me. I was expecting strong opposition coming from him, but all of a sudden he said “If your God has called you to serve Him, He will take care of you.” Then and there, I knew that it was by God’s providence that my dad had responded positively, it was the wonder working of the Almighty God.
Moses respectfully approached His father-in-law Jethro. Notice Moses’ excuse for going back to Egypt was to “return unto my brethren” (Exodus 4:18), in other words, Moses identified himself with God’s people, the Hebrews. Isn’t it amazing that after spending forty years away from his own people, he still did not forget his roots, his heritage, his people. And he had this strong burden for his own people, he said I want to return unto my brethren. Dear friends, what about you? Do you have a burden for your own people? Whether it be in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam etc? What about your unbelieving parents, siblings, friends, and relatives - do you have this strong burden to want to return and share with them the gospel, the only gospel that would save their souls? Do you know, it is this strong burden that many missionaries had, that caused them to go into the mission fields, that was how mission churches were established. It all began with this strong burden, and then God would open the doors for the gospel to be preached, churches to be established, but whether it be this strong burden or God opening the gospel doors, they are all God’s wondering working.
At our recent family camp, Reverend Dr Jeffery Khoo shared about Reverend Hosea, who was from the Philippines. Although Hosea was serving at this present moment in True Life BP Church in Singapore, his heart is always with his own people in the Philippines - he had this strong burden to bring the gospel back to the Philippines. Through him, True Life BP Church was able to start and then sustain several mission stations in the Philippines, how wonderful. Dear friends, maybe one day through your life, through your burden, God will open the gospel doors - in your home country, in your school, in your workplace, among your colleagues, or even in your neighbourhood. Is that possible? Most certainly, but it must begin with this burden, this burden for souls to be saved.
II. Moses’ reason for going back to Egypt
Our second point is ‘Moses’ reason for going back to Egypt’. Moses not forgetting his roots, his heritage, his people was good, but notice he went on to say “and see whether they be yet alive.” (Exodus 4:18). To “see whether they be yet alive” means to check on their welfare, but it comes with a question - whether they were alive or dead. That tells us how badly the Egyptians were treating the Israelites. Actually, Moses was not entirely truthful when he said to “see whether they be yet alive”, because God had already told him they were still alive. Remember when God called Moses in the midst of the burning bush, God called him to return back to Egypt to deliver the Israelites out of slavery, so Moses knew that they were still alive. The Bible does not tell us why he made such a statement, it could perhaps be that he was afraid if he gave too much detail, Jethro, his father-in-law, would raise up many questions, and even object to his return to Egypt. Or it could perhaps be because Moses himself was still doubting everything in regards to this whole matter about returning to Egypt. He was like many Christians who are always wavering between faith and unbelief, but somehow he decided to obey and go back to Egypt. It could be simply because he lacked the courage to tell Jethro that he was doing what God had told him to do.
The Bible is silent on why Moses was not entirely truthful, but whatever be the reason or reasons, what can we learn from here? We remember the words of our Lord Jesus from Matthew 5:37 “But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” Moses was called to speak to the Israelites, in other words he was called to be a Prophet, and as a Prophet, he must speak the whole truth, nothing but the truth. So here we can see that Moses still had a lot to learn and grow. It is very sad that in one of my conversations with Reverend Dr Jeffery Khoo, we were discussing about some matters in the ministry and he was telling me on one occasion, he questioned a minister on something he said and that minister, instead of saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’, because the question asked was “did you say this thing to that particular person?”, that minister tried to avoid it and he said “well I cannot remember, I’ve forgotten whether I’ve said it or not”. And both of us know that sometimes people, in order to avoid speaking the whole truth, what do they do? They will say things like “I forget”, “I cannot remember”. Christians must never avoid speaking the truth, speaking the whole truth, in whatever circumstances - we must always speak the truth because our God is true and our God is watching over us, and we are His children, He wants us to be like Him; always speaking the truth. Do not lie.
Look at the last part of verse 18, “And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.” (Exodus 4:18) Well, Moses’ father-in-law was happy to give him his blessing. Verse 19, “And the Lord said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.” Here, “all the men” is a reference to the Pharaoh and the Egyptians who wanted to take Moses’ life. It may appear as if God had to wait until all these men had died before He could ensure Moses’ safety - most certainly not. Our God is all powerful and if He wanted to, if it was His will, He could have sent Moses back to Egypt even while all those men were still alive, He could protect and preserve Moses and nobody could do anything to Him. Remember, God said to Moses repeatedly “I will be with [you]” (Exodus 3:12), and if God would be with him, what can man do to him? What can all those men - the Pharaoh, the Egyptians - do to Moses?
So why did God wait until all the men had died, the Pharaoh and the Egyptians? Well, according to God’s perfect timing, will and purpose, the death of all these men was a sign that the time had come - the time for the Exodus had come. If you remember, God prophesied to Abraham, in Genesis 15:13, “And [God] said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them” - For how long? - “four hundred years”. In other words, the Israelites will be strangers in a foreign land, that would be Egypt, and how long would they be oppressed? Four hundred years. And when was the end of their four hundred years? It was the time when those men - the Pharaoh and the Egyptians who wanted Moses’ life, were dead. So the time had come for the Exodus to begin. That was why God said to Moses, now is the time you return to Egypt “for all the men are dead which sought thy life”; not because God had to wait until those men were dead before He could ensure Moses’ safety, He could ensure Moses’ safety in any point of his life, in whatever circumstances, but the time of the Exodus had come.
III. Moses brought his family and the rod of God with him
Our third point is ‘Moses brought his family and the rod of God with him’. Look at verse 20, “And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.” Moses took two very important things with him when he left Midian for Egypt. Firstly, he took his family. The fact that Moses took his wife Zipporah and his sons, Gershom and Eliezer, tells us that he was planning to leave Midian for good. We know that his children, his two sons, were very young because if you read in the succeeding verses, verse 24 to 26, it says “And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him” - referring to Moses - “and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So [God] let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.” Which means, Moses failed to circumcise his sons and Zipporah did it. We will talk about the significance of circumcision and why it was so serious that God would take Moses’ life when he failed to circumcise his son in our next message, but here it tells us that his children were very young. How young? In those days, the infants, the sons, were circumcised on the eighth day. So Moses’ children were very young and Moses brought his wife and his sons, put them on an ass to go back to Egypt.
It was very important for Moses to bring his family along with him, why? You see, when Moses married Zipporah, was it God’s call? It was God’s call - God called him to be a husband, right? When God blessed Moses with the two sons, was it God’s call again? Yes, God called him to be a father, right? Now God called him to return back to Egypt, to be His prophet, to speak to the Israelites - it was a higher calling. However, God would never call His servant to a higher calling and then let him abandon or neglect his other callings, especially his calling to be a husband and a father. God would never call you to serve Him and then you abandon your family and let your family members, your children especially, to fend for themselves. You are called to serve Him, you are called to be a father, you are called to be a husband - God wants you to fulfil all those callings. For Moses, God called him to go back to Egypt - to be His prophet, to speak to the Israelites - but Moses also remembered he was called to be a husband to Zipporah, he was called to be a father to his two sons, so he brought his family along with him and returned back to Egypt. Later on, somehow they were separated because when we read Exodus chapter 18, we read about Moses’ family being reconciled, but their separation was a brief separation, only a brief period of time. God wanted Moses to fulfil all his callings; to be a prophet, to be a faithful husband and to be a responsible father, so he brought his family to return back to Egypt.
Secondly, Moses took the rod of God in his hand. Notice, it was not called the rod of Moses, but the rod of God. The rod of God was a symbol of divine authority; in other words, Moses was going to deliver the Israelites with God’s power. With this rod, Moses would convince the Israelites by performing miraculous signs. Later on, he would use this rod to accomplish greater wonders; like parting the Red Sea, like the ten plagues, and the water that came out of the rock - how we wish that we can have this rod of God, right? That we may wrought miraculous signs. Today, we may not have this rod of God, but you and I have something that is far greater, more powerful, more authoritative and that is the Word of God. Do you realise how powerful the Word of God is? The Word of God is so powerful, far more authoritative, far more greater - why? Because it is able to save the soul of a man. The Word of God is able to transport a lost soul from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of God’s Light. The Word of God is so powerful, that it is able to transform your life and my life; that from a wretched sinner, we can become a saint, living our lives to glorify the Almighty God. How powerful, how great and how amazing and wonderful is this Word of God we have in our hands.
Two important things Moses brought along with him; his family and this rod of God, which was a symbol of divine authority. I pray that all of us will learn to appreciate that as a family, we serve the Lord together. If God has called us to serve in a particular ministry, let us not forget that, especially to the men, that you are also called to be a father, that you are also called to be a husband. And then you bring your family together with you and serve the Lord faithfully. And what we have in our hands is far greater, more powerful, more authoritative, than anything else in this World - The Word of God. So with this Word of God, we preach, we declare & we proclaim, all to the glory of God; this Word of God is able to save the soul of a man and transform the lost soul, the wretched sinner, into a saint to glorify the Almighty God - how powerful. So when we return back we will continue our studies from the book of Exodus, chapter 4. Let us look to the Lord in Prayer;
Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for Thy Word, we thank Thee for enabling us to even consider these three verses. Help us not to just learn them for head knowledge’s sake, but to put into rightful application whatever we have learned. Indeed Thy Word is true, Thy Word is great, powerful, authoritative, wonderful, Thy Word is able to save us and transform our lives. Help us always to learn, that we may apply and we pray that Thou would continue to speak to us in a still, small voice. Minister to our hearts and help us to apply thy truth into our lives. We give Thee thanks and we pray all this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
THE BOOK OF EXODUSGod’s Prophecy and Promise Had Come To PassGod’s Prophecy and Promise Had Come To PassExodus 1:1-7
From Prosperity to PersecutionFrom Prosperity to PersecutionExodus 1:8-14
God’s Protection in the Midst of AdversitiesGod’s Protection in the Midst of AdversitiesExodus 1:15-21
The Faith of JochebedThe Faith of JochebedExodus 1:22-2:10
Moses in EgyptMoses in EgyptExodus 2:11-15
Moses in the Desert of MidianMoses in the Desert of MidianExodus 2:16-25
Moses and the Burning BushMoses and the Burning BushExodus 3:1-9
Who Are You?Who Are You?Exodus 3:10-15
Who Am I?Who Am I?Exodus 3:10-15
God’s Message to Israel and EgyptGod’s Message to Israel and EgyptExodus 3:16-22
What If They Still Don’t Believe?What If They Still Don’t Believe?Exodus 4:1-9
Send Someone ElseSend Someone ElseExodus 4:10-17
Moses’ Return to EgyptMoses’ Return to EgyptExodus 4:18-20
When Things Seemed to Get Better, They Got WorseWhen Things Seemed to Get Better, They Got WorseExodus 5:10-21
When We Have Done Everything Right, and Yet Trouble ComesWhen We Have Done Everything Right, and Yet Trouble ComesExodus 5:22-6:5
Having to Learn the Same Lesson TwiceHaving to Learn the Same Lesson TwiceExodus 6:6-12
Faithful or UnfaithfulFaithful or UnfaithfulExodus 6:13-27
What God Wants Is Our Faithfulness and ObedienceWhat God Wants Is Our Faithfulness and ObedienceExodus 6:28-7:7
The First Plague - The River of BloodThe First Plague - The River of BloodExodus 7:14-25
The Second Plague - The FrogsThe Second Plague - The FrogsExodus 8:1-15
The Third PlagueThe Third PlagueExodus 8:16-19
The Fourth PlagueThe Fourth PlagueExodus 8:20-32
The Fifth PlagueThe Fifth PlagueExodus 9:1-7
The Sixth PlagueThe Sixth PlagueExodus 9:8-12
The Seventh PlagueThe Seventh PlagueExodus 9:13-35
The Eighth PlagueThe Eighth PlagueExodus 10:1-20
The Tenth PlagueThe Tenth PlagueExodus 11:1-10
The First PassoverThe First PassoverExodus 12:1-13
The Feast of the Unleavened BreadThe Feast of the Unleavened BreadExodus 12:14-28
Departure From EgyptDeparture From EgyptExodus 12:29-42
This Do In Remembrance of MeThis Do In Remembrance of MeExodus 12:43-51; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32
Message 2: What is Church to you? My Covenantal Family!Message 2: What is Church to you? My Covenantal Family!Exodus 12:48-49, Colossians 2:11-12
Redemption and ConsecrationRedemption and ConsecrationExodus 13:1-2, 11-16
Precious Lord, Take My HandPrecious Lord, Take My HandExodus 13:17-22
Between the Desert and the Red SeaBetween the Desert and the Red SeaExodus 14:1-14
Crossing the Red SeaCrossing the Red SeaExodus 14:15-31
The Song of PraiseThe Song of PraiseExodus 15:1-21
Will You Obey Or Not?Will You Obey Or Not?Exodus 15:22-27
The Danger of a Complaining SpiritThe Danger of a Complaining SpiritExodus 16:1-3
God’s Response to Israel’s ComplaintsGod’s Response to Israel’s ComplaintsExodus 16:1-10
The Test of FaithThe Test of FaithExodus 16:11-20
Lessons About the SabbathLessons About the SabbathExodus 16:21-36
Do Not Test GodDo Not Test GodExodus 17:1-17
Lift Up Your HandsLift Up Your HandsExodus 17:8-16
The Blessedness of ReunionThe Blessedness of ReunionExodus 18:1-12
Why Do We Have Leaders?Why Do We Have Leaders?Exodus 18:13-27
I Will Carry You On Eagles’ WingsI Will Carry You On Eagles’ WingsExodus 19:1-6
Approach God Fearlessly or FearfullyApproach God Fearlessly or FearfullyExodus 19:7-15
God Reached Out And SpokeGod Reached Out And SpokeExodus 19:16-25
Thou Shalt Have No Other GodsThou Shalt Have No Other GodsExodus 20:1-3
Thou Shalt Not Make Graven ImagesThou Shalt Not Make Graven ImagesExodus 20:4-6
Thou Shalt Not Dishonour God’s NameThou Shalt Not Dishonour God’s NameExodus 20:7
Thou Shalt Keep The Sabbath DayThou Shalt Keep The Sabbath DayExodus 20:8-11
Honour Thy Father And Thy MotherHonour Thy Father And Thy MotherExodus 20:12
Thou Shalt Not KillThou Shalt Not KillExodus 20:13
Thou Shalt Not Commit AdulteryThou Shalt Not Commit AdulteryExodus 20:14
Thou Shalt Not StealThou Shalt Not StealExodus 20:15
Thou Shalt Not LieThou Shalt Not LieExodus 20:16
Thou Shalt Not CovetThou Shalt Not CovetExodus 20:17
The Response To The Ten CommandmentsThe Response To The Ten CommandmentsExodus 20:18-21
How God Wants Us To Worship HimHow God Wants Us To Worship HimExodus 20:22-26
Why Would God Allow Slavery?Why Would God Allow Slavery?Exodus 21:1-11
The Punishment Fits The Crime — a life for a lifeThe Punishment Fits The Crime — a life for a lifeExodus 21:12-17
The Punishment Fits The Crime — an eye for an eyeThe Punishment Fits The Crime — an eye for an eyeExodus 21:18-36
The Punishment Deters The Crime — property lawsThe Punishment Deters The Crime — property lawsExodus 22:1-15
The Character Of GodThe Character Of GodExodus 22:16-20
Reaching Out To The Down-And-OutReaching Out To The Down-And-OutExodus 22:21-24
The Compassion, Authority & Holiness Of GodThe Compassion, Authority & Holiness Of GodExodus 22:25-31
Truth Cannot Be Subjected To Anything But TruthTruth Cannot Be Subjected To Anything But TruthExodus 23:1-9
Remember Who God IsRemember Who God IsExodus 23:10-19
What Must We Do To Have VictoryWhat Must We Do To Have VictoryExodus 23:20-33
How We Ought To Worship GodHow We Ought To Worship GodExodus 24:1-4, 7
On What Basis Can We Approach His Majesty?On What Basis Can We Approach His Majesty?Exodus 24:4-8
Responding To God’s InvitationResponding To God’s InvitationExodus 24:9-18
The Right Attitude Of GivingThe Right Attitude Of GivingExodus 25:1-8
There I Will Meet YouThere I Will Meet YouExodus 25:9-22
Physical Or Spiritual Bread, Which Is More Important?Physical Or Spiritual Bread, Which Is More Important?Exodus 25:23-30
Let Your Light So Shine Before MenLet Your Light So Shine Before MenExodus 25:31-40
The Veil That SeparatesThe Veil That SeparatesExodus 26:1-37
A Day In Thy Court Is Better Than A ThousandA Day In Thy Court Is Better Than A ThousandExodus 27:1-19
Who Can Represent Us Before God?Who Can Represent Us Before God?Exodus 27:20-28:14
How Can We Know God’s Will?How Can We Know God’s Will?Exodus 28:15-30
If Thy Presence Go Not with Me, Carry Us Not Up HenceIf Thy Presence Go Not with Me, Carry Us Not Up HenceExodus 33:12-23
