The Women of Exodus

(Sermon Outline)

1)      Many people are seeing trends in society that they know are leading us toward a culture of inhumanity and oppression, but few have a clear vision of how to turn the situation around.

a)      I have a passion to develop a clear vision of how to turn things around and have found the book of Exodus provides a map to do so.

b)      The book teaches how deliverance from tyranny and totalitarianism is accomplished, but also how a culture of freedom and life is created. – Life Springs

c)      It is both a book of hope for those confronting a world governed by the will to power and a map of how to move toward the promised land.

d)      The first part of the book of Exodus has imparted the hope of liberty to the oppressed throughout the ages but it is the second part that teaches us how to build a culture of liberty.

e)      In the next couple of weeks, we are going to look at some principles from the book of Exodus that give us a map to the promised land – to make free people from slaves.

f)       What is at stake is a culture of humanity or inhumanity.

g)      The Book of Exodus teaches us how to create a home for the divine presence.

h)      Since it is Mother’s day, we are going to look at the divine setup in the book of Exodus.

2)      I think people often consider the burning bush the beginning of Exodus.

a)      We also probably think of Moses as the big human hero of the book.

b)      God began working before he showed up in the burning bush.

c)      One other feature of Moses’ early life should not be overlooked. Though he is the central figure in the drama of the exodus, there is a striking emphasis on the roles of six women, without whom there would not have been a Moses.[1]

d)      These are six stories of outstanding moral courage and they are all about women, at least two of whom, Zipporah and Pharaoh’s daughter, are not Israelites (the identity of the midwives is left uncertain, perhaps deliberately so). It is the women who recognise the sanctity of life and refuse to obey orders that desecrate life. It is the women who, fearing God, are fearless in the face of human evil. It is the women who have compassion – and justice without compassion is not justice. It is as if the Torah were telling us that Moses, the supreme embodiment of the passion for justice, is not enough. There must be, in Carol Gilligan’s phrase, “a different voice,” the voice of empathy, sympathy and attachment, the values that make us human, if we are to create a society in which justice has a human face.[2]

e)      Exodus 2:5–10 (NKJV) — 5 Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it. 6 And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?” 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother. 9 Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

f)       Instead of “Pharaoh’s daughter” read “Hitler’s daughter” or “Stalin’s daughter” and we see what is at stake. Tyranny cannot destroy humanity. Moral courage can sometimes be found in the heart of darkness.[3]

g)      Pharaoh’s daughter took responsibility and became a mother.

3)      A Battle between humanity and inhumanity

a)      When we understand what the battle is that we are facing, a battle that is not new under the sun, it helps us discern whether we are part of the problem or the cure.

b)      Generalization, demonization are two areas where we become part of the problem.

c)      Life is complex and nuanced

d)      Faith in our fears or of an evil report.

e)      The word of God is a measuring rod to evaluate the values and opinions that are proposing directions to the promised land.

4)      God’s word brings us hope

a)      When evil seems to be embedded in the institutions of society.

b)      The sovereignty of God who is always at work.

c)      A battle over how we see the world: (David) Psalm 11:1–4 (NKJV) — 1 In the Lord I put my trust; How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain”? 2 For look! The wicked bend their bow, They make ready their arrow on the string, That they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart. 3 If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do? 4 The Lord is in His holy temple, The Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.

d)      The good news is that once we see the principles to transform people (transform people and transform the world) we are able to build a house for the divine presence.

5)      The law of liberty and the power of the gospel – an example of a law:

a)      Deuteronomy 23:7 (NKJV) — 7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were an alien in his land.

b)      Love and forgiveness

c)      The great commission and the power of the gospel to change lives.

d)      Many problems arise from seeking fulfillment outside of God – even among believers

e)      Parents on Mother’s day

i)        Our love for our children – yet we can never meet their needs

ii)      We always fall short of what people deserve but God never does.

iii)    We can introduce them to the only person who can.

iv)    Husbands and wives.

v)      Genesis is the foundation of the Exodus – walking with God personally before the nation walks with God.

vi)    How we should live and relate to one another and the power to do so.

6)      Put on love

a)      God’s law brings life, blessing and liberty.

b)      Colossians 3:12–17 (NKJV) — 12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

c)      The closer we walk with God the more we want to love people and for people to experience love, but the more we realize how much we fall short of what people need and deserve. 

d)      That is why we preach the gospel.

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[1] Sacks, Jonathan. Exodus: The Book of Redemption (Covenant & Conversation 2) (p. 9). Kindle Edition.