Exodus 2.15. Now when Pharaoh
heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from
the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian. And he
sat down by a well. Now the priest of Midian had
seven daughters and they came and drew water and filled the
troughs to water their father's flock. And the shepherds came
and drove them away. But Moses stood up and helped
them and watered their flock. And when they came to Reuel,
their father, he said, how is it that you have come so soon
today? And they said, an Egyptian delivered us out of the hand
of the shepherds and also drew water enough for us and watered
the flock. And he said unto his daughters,
and where is he? Why is it that you have left
the man calling that he may eat bread. And Moses was content
to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. And she bare him a son, and he
called his name Gershom, for he said, I have been a stranger
in a strange land. And it came to pass in the process
of time that the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel
sighed by reason of the bondage. And they cried, and their cry
came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their
groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with
Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children
of Israel, and God had respect unto them. Now there are two
very distinct scenes that we are shown in this same passage. but each is very relevant to
the other. We have Moses in the land of
Midian and then we have verse 23 through 25 this word about
what's going on back in Egypt and how the people are crying
and God hearing their cry and these two different scenes are
part of the same story because God gives ear to the cry of his
people as we see there. And at the same time, their deliverer
Moses is in God's hand and waiting for God's time for him to return
to Egypt and lead them out of the bondage for which they cry. So we see again here, God's providential
dealings and how in this story, of Moses fleeing Egypt and dwelling
in the land of Midian. We get a glimpse here of the
heart that God has given to Moses. In Exodus 2.11 we saw where it
says, Moses was grown and he went out unto his brethren and
looked on their burdens. It doesn't just mean he happened
to spot them as he was walking by he looked on their burdens
it mattered to him that they were suffering he had compassion
upon them and then it's interesting also that the same word in verse
25 is used and God looked upon the children of Israel Moses
is such a beautiful picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. And we
see, again, a glimpse of the heart that God had already given
him. It's going to be a long time before Moses is ready to
go back and to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. But already,
when he walked through the land and he saw their bondage and
the oppression that they were under, his heart went out to
them. God was already had already given him a heart, the same compassion
that God himself had. They both looked and had compassion
upon them. And then in verse 12, he defends
one of his brethren against an Egyptian that was apparently
attacking him. And look at the language there. He looked this way and that way,
verse 11, the end part of verse 11. He looked on their burdens
and he spied an Egyptian smiting in Hebrew, one of his brethren. He cared because that's what
he said, that's one of my brothers being attacked. And he looked
this way and that way. And when he saw there was no
man, he slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. And then In verse 13, it grieves
Moses to see two of his brethren fighting against one another.
And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews
strove together. And he said to him that did the
wrong, wherefore smitest thy fellow? Your brothers, why would you
fight with it? It burdened his heart to see
that. And then here in our text tonight,
he sees these total strangers being mistreated. These ladies
had brought their father's flocks to the well to be watered, and
there were some shepherds that apparently they had had run-ins
with before because their father knew who they were talking about
when they said the shepherds were, and they were at it again. But Moses stood up and defended
them. We don't have a lot of detail
there about how he ran them off, but Moses is one man and shepherds
is plural. And Moses said, not while I'm
here, you don't. And he defended those ladies
and helped them water their flocks. And we see this heart that's
in Moses. We're reminded of our savior's
heart for his people, aren't we? Not only for the people of
Israel, but you and I were strangers and foreigners too. Paul said
in Ephesians 2.19, but not anymore. Not anymore. Because of the heart
of our Savior, the compassion that he had on us strangers,
we're part of the family now. He treated us like family. And
that's what these ladies' fathers said. And he became part of their
family. And what the father said was,
he's already acting like part of the family, so bring him on
in. And our Lord defended us, though
we were strangers and foreigners from the Commonwealth of Israel,
because He had compassion on us. He defended us. Now, let's
look at this at verse 23. It came to pass in process of
time that the king of Egypt died and the children of Israel sighed.
What did they sigh for? And it's interesting that there's
three words used. It says there that they sighed.
And then in the next phrase, they cried. And then in verse
24, they groaned. But why? What was the purpose
of it? Verse 23 tells us, by reason of the bondage. It was because of the cruel bondage
that they were under. And we see here a picture of
all of us by nature, we're under bondage. And it's our natural
condition as men and women in this world before God, we're
in terrible, cruel bondage. Now this word in verse 23 for
bondage, I looked that up in the original, and it means labor,
servile labor. But in this context, we know
that it was more than just that they had some work to do. There's
more to that here, this than that. This was cruel slave labor. The Hebrews were captives. It
wasn't just that they had work to do, though the word just means
labor. It means servile labor. You do that on your job. But
the difference is if you don't like your job, you can quit if
you want to. I wouldn't recommend that right
now, but you can if you want to. You can just go in your boss's
office and say, I'm done. I'm done. I'm out of here. I
can't do this anymore. And you can move on. But that
wasn't the case here. If one of these Hebrews would
have said, I need to talk to Pharaoh, I'd like to quit this
job. I don't think I'm being treated fairly and it's time
for me to move on. They would have laughed at him and then
beat him for saying it. and made him work harder. And
this is important for us to understand with regard to our spiritual
bondage. It's important for us to see
that we can't just decide that we want out. It doesn't work
like that. It's not that kind of labor that
we're laboring under and heavy laden. This is hard labor under
captivity, under a cruel taskmaster. It's slavery and bondage. And
this is exactly how we're described by nature. I'm not just, that's
not just my opinion on it. Let's look at some scripture,
Romans chapter seven. If you'd like to turn there,
I'm gonna read from verse 13 and say this, first of all, we're
in bondage by nature to our nature, our sin nature. And look at what
Paul is saying in Romans 7, 13. This is exactly what he's teaching. Romans 7, 13, was then that which
is good made death unto me. He's talking about the law of
God. That which is good. Is it the
law that's made death? God forbid. Yes, the law requires
my death, but it's not the law itself that's death. If you can
conform to the law perfectly, the law is life. Look at what
he said. It's not the law that's made
death, God forbid, but sin. that it might appear sin working
death in me by that which is good, by the law, revealed by
the law, but it's the sin that's death. That sin by the commandment
might become exceeding sinful. Sin doesn't get any more sinful
in and of itself, but when the commandment is revealed to you,
it becomes exceeding sinful to you. For we know that the law
is spiritual, but I am carnal. Three words, sold under sin. That word sold there means literally
the very first definition of it in the original Greek is the
price of one that is sold under slavery. For that which I do, verse 15,
I allow not. For what I would, that I do not.
The Israelites would have gotten out from under that bondage,
but they couldn't do it. That's what Paul said. He was
in the same situation. I'm sold under sin. I'm sold
into slavery and I can't get out. Verse 16. Last part of verse
15, but what I hate that I do If then I do that which I would
not I can sin unto the law that it's good It's not that the law
is evil and death. It's me. That's evil and my sin
is death Verse 17 now that is no more I that do it but sin
that dwelleth in me. There's our sin nature Sin that
dwelleth in me is not my sins, my outward acts of sin that I
commit. Sin that dwelleth in me is my
sin nature. For I know that in me, that is
in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. For the will is present
with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. How about you? How about you? Now this is our sin nature, the
sin that dwells within me. And as I said, the word sold
there in verse 14, that's a telling word, the price of one sold into
slavery. And this entire passage shows
that we're under bondage to sin and unable to break free of it. We're sold like slaves and we're
in bondage to our sin nature. People say, well, I have a free
will. I can choose to do good or evil. Paul said, not me. He said, even when I want to
do good, I do evil. Anybody? What we call good is evil. And
I'll tell you this. If you say any different, you're
a liar. We're all sold under sin. And when Paul says, here
that he cannot perform that which he wills. He wants to do it,
but he can't. He's saying that as a believer.
If you're an unbeliever, you don't even will it, much less
have the ability to do it. Not good, where there's none
good. No, not one. Paul said here in verse 18 that
he cannot perform that which he wills. That's not freedom
of the will. That's bondage of the will. in
bondage to our sin nature. And that's only true, as I said,
as a believer, as an unbeliever, it's a lot worse than that. We
don't even want to do good. Paul said in Philippians 2.13,
it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his
good pleasure. And the unbeliever doesn't have
that work of God in them, causing them to will to do good. Suppose
one of the Hebrews had said, I have a free will and I choose
to walk away and be free. They would have laughed at him
and beaten him and made the bondage worse. You can't do that. You're sold under sin. Secondly, we're in bondage to
Satan by nature. Well, not many people would say
amen to that. We're in bondage to Satan. Second
Timothy 2.24, and the servant of the Lord must not strive but
be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient. I pray for that
for patience. In meekness, instructing those
that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance
to the acknowledging of the truth and that they may recover themselves
out of the snare of the devil who are taken captive by him
at his will. Your will is free. Satan's got
you right where he wants you. The more you say that, the more
he likes it. How can we recover ourselves
out of the snare of the devil? If God grants us repentance,
that's how we'll do it. God got to change our mind. Because
it's our mind that causes us to be sold under sin. Our will
is evil and bound by our sin nature. And that's all we can
do. Of course, Satan can't do anything
without God's permission. We know that from the book of
Job and elsewhere in scripture. But as far as Satan is allowed
to play us and manipulate us, he will do so. And you and I
are powerless to stop him in our natural state. Even in our
regenerated state, we're powerless to stop him, but we can do all
things through Christ, which strengtheneth us. We're just
like Satan by nature. We're just like him. By nature,
when the Lord said to the Pharaoh, you're of your father, the devil,
and the lust of your father, you'll do. You'll just like him. Like father, like son. That's
our sin nature. Ephesians 2 1 and you have he
quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins wherein in time past
you walked according to the course of this world according to the
prince of the power of the air I walked according as well how
I wanted to walk no you didn't Satan had his chain around your
neck and your heart and you walked according to him according to
his will according to God's word, the
spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among
whom also we all had our conduct, our conversation in times past,
in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and
of the mind. Well, wait a minute, I thought
we were acting according to Satan, not our flesh and mind. It's
the same thing, same thing. You did what you wanted to do,
and you were doing what Satan wanted you to do at the same
time. And me. Fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and we're by nature. That's why
we're always using those words, by nature. By nature, we're dead. By nature, we can't do any good.
By nature, we're totally depraved. By nature, we can't understand
the things of God. We use those words because they're
scriptural. By nature, we were the children
of wrath, even as others. In Acts 10 38, listen to this
message. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Ghost and with power who went about doing good
and healing all that were oppressed of the devil. That word oppressed
means to exercise harsh control over somebody. That's where we
were until the Lord set us free. Thirdly, we're in bondage to
the law of God. God requires perfect obedience
to his law. Of course he does. He's God.
He demands it. It's his right. It's his due.
And it will be rendered. Not by you, but it will be rendered. Even under human law, if you
are guilty of a crime and unable to pay for that crime in any
other way, you're put in prison. And that's where you and I are
by nature. We're in bondage to the law of
God. If you commit a crime whose penalty
is some kind of a fee, and you're able to pay that fee, then you
walk. But if you murder somebody, you
can't pay for that. You don't have enough. So what
happens? You're going in the can. And
the key gets thrown away. It'll cost you your freedom.
Let me ask you this. How do you pay for killing God's
son? How do you make up for that?
Well, I've done some bad things, but I've done some good things.
How do you make up for murdering the son of God? Is your good
going to outweigh that? You've broken God's law since
you were born. But in John 3, 19, Listen to
the language, I'll quote it to you, you can jot it down if you
want to look at it later. John 3, 19, this is the condemnation,
that light is coming to the world. And men loved darkness rather
than light because their deeds were evil. That evil of your
deeds, that's your law breaking since you, David said I went
astray from the womb speaking lies. We've been doing evil ever
since we had any capacity whatsoever to do evil. And when somebody
came down here, the Lord Jesus Christ has shined his perfect
light upon us and revealed us as we are. We murdered him for
it. That's your condemnation before God. You're going to make
up for that. You're in bondage and you're not getting out until
the uttermost farthing is paid. Galatians 5, 1, stand fast therefore
in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us
free. And be not entangled again with
the yoke of bondage. Behold, I, Paul, say unto you
that if you be circumcised, what do you mean yoke of bondage?
If you keep the law in order to please God. Christ shall profit
you nothing. If your standing before God is
your law keeping, Christ shall profit you nothing and the yoke
of bondage is around your neck. And the wages of your sin is
eternal death. Death in every sense of the word,
death. For I testify again to every
man that is circumcised that he is a debtor to do the whole
law. That's what he means by bondage.
That's what he's talking about by the yoke of bondage. You're
a debtor and you can't pay, so you're in bondage. Christ is become of no effect
unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law. Don't miss the context. It doesn't
mean if you've just performed some outward thing with regard
to your body that Christ will profit you nothing. If you do
that to be justified before God by the law, then you're on a
footing of works and not the grace of God in Christ. And you're
under the bondage of the law. until God gets good and ready
to kill you and put you in hell. That's where you'll stay. It's either bondage or liberty.
And in that same passage, law or grace. Law equals bondage. Grace is
liberty. The grace of God in Christ who
has made us free. So then if all mankind is in
this terrible bondage, we're like the Israelites, just daily
beaten and oppressed and under the terrible control of the enemy,
of those who hate us and our God. Then why isn't everybody crying
out like the Israelites did in Egypt? They sighed and cried and groaned. But I don't hear much of that
in this world, do you? You know why? Because they don't
even know they're in bondage. They're completely deceived about
it. That's where I used to be. It's
spiritual bondage, you see, and we have no spiritual understanding. None. Let me read you a passage
of scripture. Until God saves us, we have no
spiritual understanding. And this is a spiritual bondage.
We have no perception of it. Listen to John 8 31, then said
Jesus to those Jews, which believed on him. If you continue in my
word, then are you my disciples indeed. And you shall know the
truth and the truth shall make you free. Hallelujah. But that's not what they said
when they heard him preach that. He said, the truth make you free. If you continue in my word and
you're truly my disciple, the truth will make you free. If
the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. You
know what their response was to that? We be Abraham's seed
and we were never in bondage to anybody. How sayest thou you
shall be made free? And Jesus answered them, verily,
verily, I say unto you, whosoever committeth sin is the servant
of sin. I looked up that word servant.
I wouldn't have put that word there knowing what I know looking
at the Greek word. It means a slave, a bondman,
a man of servile condition. You're the slave of sin, and
you don't even know it. Now these idiots said, we don't
need to be made free, we're already free. And at the time they said
this, they were under bondage to the Romans. They didn't have
any freedom. They crucified the Lord Jesus
Christ not long after that passage there in John 8, and they had
to appeal to Pilate, the Roman governor, to get it done, because
they had no power themselves. And they're saying, we're not
in bondage. We've never been in bondage to
anybody. You talk about blind. They were in bondage to the Romans.
They were in bondage to their own sin nature, as our Lord taught
them here. They were in bondage to Satan.
And they were in bondage to the law of God. And they said, we've
never been in bondage. That's why they're not crying
out. That's why when the Lord said, I'll make you free, they
didn't rejoice in it like we do now. And neither did we when
we were blind. Spiritual bondage requires spiritual
understanding to feel the weight of it. That's why he said, all
you that labor and are heavy laden, waitin' everybody? No.
You have to have a spiritual understanding of your condition
before God, and then I guarantee you, you'll sigh, cry, and groan
all at the same time. And you won't stop. until you have some relief. They
couldn't even crucify him without Pilate. Well then, at least Pilate
was free to do what he wanted to do. That's what he thought.
He didn't have a free will either, though he was on the throne there
of that region. He said to the Lord, don't you
know that I have power to crucify you or let you go? And the Lord
said, you don't have any power at all, except it be given you
by my Father. No power. None. No one has a free will but God. Nobody, nowhere, know how. We're
all in bondage, cruel bondage, and we're helpless under it.
Terrible bondage. But one day, by God's grace and
sovereign mercy, we heard this word of love. Come unto me, all
you that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. I'll give you rest. And because that word that was
preached into our ears was mixed with faith in those that heard
it in our hearts, by God's power and grace. Rather than be offended
at the idea of freedom and rest, it was the most wonderful thing
we ever heard. We felt the grievous burden of
our bondage, and we sighed and we cried and we groaned under
the weight of it, and God heard our cry. And He sends the Deliverer, and
we follow Him out of bondage. Just like the Israelites. Why
does God hear our cry? Well, we saw that in our text
in Exodus 2, 24. He remembered his covenant with
us. Well, God didn't make a covenant with me. Yes, he did. He did
it before he was born. You hadn't heard about it yet.
David said, though it be not so with my house. God made an
everlasting covenant with me. Ordered in all things, ensured
it wasn't dependent upon me to meet any conditions or requirements. And this is all my salvation
and all my desire. He made a covenant with all of
his people in Christ. He had unconditionally promised
Abraham exactly what was taking place in our text in Exodus.
He said unto Abraham in Genesis 15, 13, know of a surety that
your seed will be a stranger in a land that's not theirs and
will serve them. And they shall afflict them 400
years. And also that nation whom they
shall serve will I judge. And afterward shall they come
out with great substance. God made a covenant with Abraham.
And when he heard the cry of the Israelites, he remembered
his covenant. Not that he had forgotten it.
You understand condescending language concerning God. He don't forget his covenant.
But because of that covenant that he had made with Abraham,
this cry was heard by God and acted upon. God also hears our cry. When
we cry under the weight of our sin, under the bondage of our
sin nature, and our bondage under Satan, and under the bondage
of the law, when we cry, he hears us. Why? Because of the covenant
that he made with us in his son before the world began. If you
want to read about it, jot this down, Hebrews 13, 20 and 21. When the Lord shed his blood
on Calvary, That blood was the blood and is yet the blood of
the everlasting covenant. All right, also in Exodus 2.25,
God had respect unto them. He had respect unto them. Wow, what does that mean? You
know what that word is there? It simply means no. You look it up. It doesn't have
any other complicated Variable definite. It just means he knew
him. He knew him. That's all that's necessary.
He knew of the Egyptians, but he knew his people. What a difference. Paul said in Romans 8, 29, for
whom he did foreknow. He also did predestinate every
one of them that he foreknew. He predestinated them. He fixed
it in eternity. He purposed it. The one whose
purpose shall stand and whose hand is not shortened that he
cannot save. And he is the God who said, I've
purposed it. Shall I not do it? Who's going
to stop him? Job said, I've learned on the
ash heap that you can do anything. And that everything you set out
to do, nobody can hinder you in it. And he's the one who said, of
whom it is said, for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate. He predetermined that you'd be
like his son one day. That says it all, doesn't it?
We're going to be like Christ. Only those who God knows will
ever be like Christ. Christ said to those hypocrites
in Matthew 7, 23, I never knew you. All they had to say was,
look what we've done for you. And he said, I never knew you.
Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. So if we're sold under
sin, and by God's grace, we're caused to know it and to cry
out. And God hears our cry, how will
he deliver us? Well, the answer corresponds
to the nature of our bondage. We're sold under sin, so how
will he deliver us? By paying the price of our redemption.
That word redemption has to do with the price paid to purchase
a slave. How much did it cost him? First
Peter 118, for as much as you know that you were not redeemed
with corruptible things, as silver and gold from your vain conversation
received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious
blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
I was sold under sin, and the price of my freedom is his precious
blood, and he paid it freely and willingly. How did God deliver the Hebrews
from the Egyptian bondage? He said, kill a lamb and put
its blood on the door, and when I see the blood, you'll go free,
and I'll judge the Egyptians. But if we're captive to Satan,
how does he deliver us from our bondage to Satan? Hebrews 2.14,
for as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
he also, our Lord Jesus, likewise himself, took part of the same. Why did he do that? That through
death, he might destroy him that had the power of death, that
is the devil. All of our enemies are conquered
by our great Deliverer. We are more than conquerors through
Him that loved us. And deliver them who through
fear of death were all their lifetimes subject to bondage. That's how. But if we're in bondage
to the law of God, how can we be made free? God's law is right
and good. He has a righteous claim upon
us. And by the terms of that righteous holy law, that's good
and right, we must die. How can he deliver us from the
bondage of the law? Galatians 3.13, Christ hath redeemed
us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. Isn't
that simple and beautiful? He honored the law of God perfectly
as a man, as my representative, so that in him, as my representative,
I am holy and unblameable and unreprovable in the sight of
Almighty God. And he was made a curse. He was made sin for me. The one
who knew no sin was made sin that I might be made the righteousness
of God in him. And having taken my sin upon
himself and suffered the wrath of God for my sin, he bore my
sin to the cross. And there he cried out, My God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And from his word we know
the answer to that question, because he bore my sin in his
own body on the tree, and he paid the penalty. the unthinkable,
unspeakable wrath of Almighty God against my sin. He took it. He bore it. The punishment of
the sins that he bore. In other words, he kept the law
for me in life and paid for my lawlessness with his death. That's what he did. And that's
how he made me free from the bondage of God's law. So these Israelites in Egypt,
what a picture they are of us. And the Lord's already, the Savior,
the Deliverer is already waiting. It's just, why didn't Moses go
back? God's time hadn't come yet. When
it's time, in the fullness of time, Christ came into this world
to live and to die for his people. And Moses, the deliverer, is
already ready. The Israelites had no idea that there was a
deliverer. Moses, it said there in that
message that Stephen preached in Acts 7, that Moses supposed
that they knew that he was the deliverer. They didn't. They
didn't have any idea. But they will. God's got a mighty deliverer.
Before they even knew it, he'd already promised that they'd
go out with great substance. And in God's good time, that's
exactly what happens. That's what he did for me. Let's
bow in prayer.