Drew Boswell

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“The Purpose of God’s Family” Exodus 1

“Into the Wilderness”

A Sermon Series in the Book of Exodus

“The Purpose of God’s Family”

Exodus 1

Introduction

The book of Genesis ends with the Hebrew word for “in Egypt.” Genesis 50: “So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.” And by the time we get to the book of Exodus 400 years have passed where they have been enslaved. “This slavery fulfills the prophecy God gave in Genesis 15:13, which says, ‘Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.’”[1] There was already a promise of going out of the land, where they would be “servants there.”

The Hebrew title for the book of Exodus comes from two Hebrew words in the text, which are translated as, “And these are the names of . . .” There is a flow from Genesis leaving off being in Egypt and what happened to the descendants of Jacob (and Joseph).[2] Genesis leaves them “in the best of the land” Goshen (Gen. 47:6). The book of Exodus is God keeping his promise – Egypt’s time of judgment has arrived. The desert sand in the hour glass have dropped for four hundred years, and now the last grain of sand has fallen. God always keeps His word.

There is also throughout this book a comparison of the Hebrew God (the Creator God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) against the world’s gods – specifically Egypt’s gods. The pharaoh’s name is never given, because he represents all of Egypt. In these opening verses, the pharaoh who experienced the salvation that came through Joseph’s dreams and the great famine (the skinny cows that devoured the fat cows) were well over four generations ago. The world needs to be reminded (pharaoh thought he was the incarnate Son of Re – the sun god), and God’s people need to be reminded of who the one true God is, and what he is capable of.

Also, Pharoah and Egypt were fooled by Satan into thinking that they were gods, that they ruled the world, but it was Satan behind the scenes. The Hebrew people were Yahweh’s chosen people, they were promised a land of milk and honey, and they were going to multiply and increase. So, Pharoah says, no, I am god, you will serve me not Him, and you aren’t going anywhere – you will be mine.

Prayer

One Family Can Change the World (vv. 1-7)

(And) These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5 All the descendants of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt. 6 Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. 7 But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.

The world was built around a family (Adam and Eve). So when Satan attacked God’s creation, he attacked the created order. Satan went to Eve, insinuated that Adam had lied to her (“Did God really say, . . .”). Satan’s goal was to destroy the family because it is the basic building block of humanity. Here in Exodus, we see another attack against God’s plan, here the plan is for the redemption of mankind through a family.

In Genesis 12:2-3 God promises that Abraham and his descendants would become a great nation, and the Savior promised in Genesis 3 would come through his family, “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

The Israelites were increasing in number because God was blessing them. Where it says, “they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.” It’s the same word used in Genesis to describe hordes of marine or animal life (Gen. 1:20, 7:21).[3] He was blessing them because they played a major role in the redemption of mankind. They were increasing at an amazing, miraculous number.

The family grew from one man and his wife (Jacob/Israel), to their sons and families (the twelve tribes), and an initial family of seventy persons. From this group now, when we arrive in Exodus, are over a million – it is a nation. God has blessed Abraham and has kept His promise to make him a great nation. But will they bless the entire world with a Savior – that has not happened yet (in the story), and for Satan that has to be stopped.

The story moves from a mentioning a family to now referring to them as a nation. But also, “Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation.” – all the previous generation and even the great leader and dreamer Joseph were gone . . . “The writer is somewhat emphatic to show the Israelites that “who you are now” must be understood in connection with “who came before you and who they were.”[4]

Isaac, Jacob, Abraham, Esther, Ruth, Noah, Peter, Paul, John, Matthew – these are not just stories – these were people of faith that have passed down God’s Word and what it means to be a follower of the One true God – the same God is with us now, as was with them centuries ago. And we will pass it on to the next generation.

The purpose of God’s Family is to remain faithful to God (despite circumstances),

and to pass on His truth to the next generation.

The Worse Things Get, the Stronger God’s Family Becomes (1:8-22)

Slavery

8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.[5] 9 And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and lRaamses. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. 13 So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves 14 and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.

(v. 8) “Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph” – another way to translate this verse is to say, “who chose not to know about Joseph.”[6] It is in the historical record, carved in hieroglyphs – but he chose not to take history into account. The new generation chose not to take into account the historical knowledge of the previous generations. That pride would lead to the deaths of countless people.

The new pharaoh is trying to control the Hebrew people, because he is concerned that if their number become too great, then they will “fight against us and escape from the land” – the fear is not that they will take over; they have a prophecy of a promised land, and they have made it known that want to leave.

The Egyptians don’t want to lose their slave labor force. So, to keep them from rebelling, conspiring, and multiplying, they afflicted them with heavy burdens as slaves. Again, there is God blessing the Israelites and them becoming a nation, But “under a regime of slavery, subjects become objects. The Hebrews, who have been identified as a people, are in the process of losing their identity.”[7]

The Egyptians in their attempt to deal shrewdly with God’s people, and they came up with a plan to keep them from multiplying by enslaving them. Like the crack of a whip, we see these words through text, afflict them, heavy burdens, oppressed, ruthlessly, slaves, bitter, hard service, work in the field, crack, crack, crack. The goal of slavery was to “bend them down, . . .to crush their spirit, so as to banish their very wish for liberty.”[8] But the harder they oppressed, the more they increased.

Psalm 105:25 “Then Israel came to Egypt; Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. 24 And the LORD made his people very fruitful and made them stronger than their foes. 25 He turned their hearts to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants.”

Why would God allow His people to go through such a horrific and difficult time? God would show His power and might in the chapters to come, surely He had the power to stop it. Why slavery? God intentionally turned the Egyptians against the Israelites.

(1) To Keep Them Detached. Look what happens in the later books about God’s people: When left on their own, when warned not to marry foreign women, or take on the cultures of the people around them, when warned by prophet after prophet to keep God’s ways, they again and again go away from God.

(2) To Keep Them Distinct. They could not be God’s distinct people, if they took on the ways of the Egyptians – which they would have, if left on their own.[9] Before we get onto the OT believers, the church has a tendency to do the same thing. When Christians are left alone, when they are not persecuted and oppressed – they don’t read their Bibles, they don’t share their faith, they tend to overlook sin and eventually whole countries which were previously devout Christian nations now are some the most lost places in the world. But when the church is persecuted, it flourishes; it becomes doctrinally sound, and believers take their faith very seriously.

(3) To Keep Them Wanting to Depart. Also, another reason for their suffering was if they had simply blended in with the Egyptian culture, worked alongside of them, raised their families as neighbors, would they have ever desired to leave Egypt? If things are wonderful why do we need God? Suffering drove them to realize their need for a Savior, a Deliverer. The hardest people to reach with the gospel are the rich and worldly successful – because they don’t believe they need anything.

Even with the incredible suffering, it doesn’t take very long of being free before the people, say “we want to go back.” Slavery forced them to stay together and isolated long enough to grow into a great nation, and suffering pushed them to leave. If we never suffer, we will never long to see heaven or be with the Lord.

(4) To Give Others A Chance to Repent. We also get a clue in Genesis 15:16 where God was promising Abraham that he would be a great nation, and they would have a land flowing with milk and honey, but they will have to be in bondage “And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” God has a plan for everyone, and in this instance the Israelites had to wait because there was something else going on with another group.[10] The Amorites had four hundred years to turn to the one true God, but there was a limit – God’s grace was being given.

(5) So that God’s people can identify with those who have been enslaved and experience death, “The recalling of oppression is to lead to an identification with those who suffer.”

There are many reasons why God allowed the Hebrew people to suffer, some we will never know, but what we see is that God uses suffering, it has a purpose. For His people it is always redemptive. Also, the pharaoh said, “Come, let us deal shrewdly with them,” the wisdom of this world, is fooled into thinking that it can stop the plans of the Lord, 1 Corinthians 3:19 “For the wisdom of this world is folly with God.”

Suffering pushes us away from the world and toward God’s plan.

Then things got much worse . . .

Genocide

15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. 18 So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” 20 So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”

When slavery didn’t work to control the population size, pharaoh turned to slaughter. His first attempt is to have the midwives secretly kill the boys as they are being delivered. But the midwives, refuse to do it. When asked about when they were not following the orders, they lied – “they always give birth before the midwife can arrive (so they can’t secretly kill them as they are being delivered.) The irony of their response to pharaoh is that the women are in such good shape, that when it’s time for delivery, they have the baby so fast, they push the child out like an Olympic athlete – how are they in such good shape? They carry bricks all day.

The midwives did what they could to protect innocent life. “So God dealt well with the midwives.” (vv. 17, 21) “But the midwives feared God . . . And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.” – The midwives were commanded to destroy life, they honored God above all other authorities and so were rewarded with a family. God gave them what they were unwilling to take from someone else. They refused to take the life of an innocent, so they were rewarded with the gift they knew was worthy of fighting for. “Their reverence for life reflected a reverence for God.”[11] That reverence for God resulted in their being a house of Shiphrah and a house of

So when secret killing doesn’t work – Pharaoh then gives the order for open genocide, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile.” Why males and not females if the goal is population control? Genesis 3:15 “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Pharoah doesn’t understand how he is being manipulated, but Satan knows that the redeemer is through this chosen people’s bloodline. His goal is to keep them from being what God has designed them to be.

“Such noncompliance with the law on humanitarian grounds is rooted in a creation theology.”[12] When you don’t have a God of creation theology, then to flinging babies into a river becomes much easier – they are subhuman, slaves, cattle. They are not like us.

“Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile. ” “All Egypt has been recruited to destroy the population explosion of the enemy.”[13] The Egyptian people had to go along with this order, for it to be accepted. The nation went along with a genocide of countless babies – did they believe that there would not come a day of reckoning.

Exodus 12:29-30 “At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead.” The Egyptians were made to suffer in the same way that the Israelites had suffered.

There are two enemies of God’s people bondage (sin) and death. Once we are captured, bound in sin, it will always lead to death. What God’s people needed was a savior, to free them from their bondage and live. John 8:34 “Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” That sin that we are slaves to results in death, Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Satan attacks two big things in the opening chapter of Exodus, the family,

and God’s people fulfilling their purpose.

__________________________

[1] John D. Curid, A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publishing, 2016) 69.

[2] Hebrews 11:22 “By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.” Joseph showed faith by giving directions to take his bones with the people when leave at the Exodus. He knew God would keep his promise, and he wanted to be buried with his people.

[3] F. B. Huey Jr., A Study Guide Commentary, Exodus (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1977) 20.

[4] Peter Enns, The NIV Application Commentary, Exodus (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing House, 2000) 45.

[5] Similar to our remembering things from 1624.

[6] Brevard S. Childs, The Old Testament Library, The Book of Exodus, A Critical Commentary (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; The Westminter Press, 1974) 5.

[7] Terence E. Fretheim, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, Exodus (Louisville, Kentucky; John Knox Press, 1991) 29.

[8] C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, Volume 1 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1985) 422.

[9] Philip Graham Ryken, Preaching the Word, Exodus, Saved for God’s Glory (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publishing, 2015) 32.

[10] Arthur W. Pink, Gleanings in Exodus (Chicago, Illinois; Moody Press, 1977) 11. see also1 Thess. 2:16

[11] Frank E. Gaebelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Volume 2 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1990) 306.

[12] Fretheim, 32.

[13] Childs, 17.

“Responding to God’s Favor Upon Your Life” Luke 2:15-20

Merry & Bright

A Christmas Sermon Series

“Responding to God’s Favor Upon Your Life”

Luke 2:15-20

Introduction

Our story today picks up right after the angels leave the shepherds standing in the pasture. Before they were going about watching over their flocks by night, then the message from and angel, then the appearing of the heavenly host, and a worship service right there in the night sky. Then as soon as they had appeared, they are gone.

Prayer

Now What? (vv. 15-20)

15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Go and See (v. 15b-16)

Many times, we try to define faith and we make too complicated.  Faith is simply taking God at His Word.  The shepherds had just been given a message – There is a Savior, you can meet Him, Here’s how you will recognize Him. The step of faith for the shepherds was to go to Bethlehem.  “16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger”

The step of faith that God requires us to take is not to run to a nearby barn, but Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” God offers us forgiveness and salvation as a gift – the step we take is to receive or reject this good news as a gift.  (Christmas gift around the tree)

Is it good enough to hear about Jesus. Even if Jesus was born a mile away, they would have been just as lost as if he had been born on the other side of the planet. The shepherds could have gone and found Jesus, and said, “oh how nice, what a cute baby. This gives me such warm feelings.” “The Christ who was born into the world, must also be born into your heart.”[1] The shepherds rejoiced when they were told that a savior had been born!

Going and then Telling (v. 17-18)

There was something within this group of shepherds that told them that they simply could not go back to the pasture to watch the sheep. They knew they had to tell others the good news.  The town was amazed – but what the Bible doesn’t say is how the town responded.  Did they go and see the Christ child?

We are even commanded to go and tell what we have experienced with Christ, as Jesus was ascending into heaven he gave the command, Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

But humans rarely follow Jesus’ commands because we are told to – we usually follow because we genuinely desire for others to know Jesus, as we know Jesus. I have heard salvation described as, “one beggar telling the other beggar where the bread is.” It’s when we forget how Christ has changed our lives, that we quit, unlike the shepherds, “they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,” They knew it was not right for them to keep such a wonder and treasure to themselves. They knew how they felt when they found Jesus and wanted others to feel that way as well.

II Kings 7:8-9 tells the story of God’s people being surrounded by an army, locked up in a city and all the people are starving. Two beggars say, we are going to die, why not try to sneak over to the enemy camp, but no one was there, “8 And when these lepers came to the edge of the camp, they went into a tent and ate and drank, and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and went and hid them. Then they came back and entered another tent and carried off things from it and went and hid them. 9 Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come; let us go and tell the king’s household.” Imagine all those starving people in the city discovering that these two had more than they could eat in a life time, and they didn’t tell anyone?

The book of Jonah ends with him sitting on a hillside overlooking the city wanting God to destroy it, but the people are putting on sack cloth and ashes in repentance of the message from God – five words led to an entire city turning to God. If our story told to another person can keep them from hell – how can we be silent?

Treasuring and Pondering (v. 19)

(v. 19) “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Another way of saying this is, “she kept on keeping together all these things.”[2] Mary had just given birth in a very difficult place to deliver a child.  A barn is filthy.  Was there clean water? Did they have blankets? Mary would have been exhausted from labor, pushing and the pain of delivery.  She would have looked a mess. But as she is sitting there with her newborn child, she is “treasuring up all these things.” She is thinking, lining up details, remembering all that she has experienced.

She was also pondering, “placing together for comparison.” Mary was going over all the details of the angel Gabriel’s words, and now the shepherds were arriving. Sometimes God takes us through things were all we can is just sit there and take it all in. She had just delivered the Savior of the world.  He was healthy and there weren’t any complications.  Animals were nearby, shepherds were arriving, soon townspeople would be getting there. Later magi from the east would be arriving.

But you know what? People weren’t coming to see her or Joseph – they were coming to see Jesus. You should not dress up the gospel – it is what it is.  Life is messy, the way God dealt with our sin was messy, ministry often times is messy, life many times is messy.  But if we point people to Christ – the focus is not on us.

What if Mary had turned people away – “no you can’t come in right now, Mary is resting.”  “no one come into the barn right now, Mary is putting on her makeup.”  When people came to the door she only had to point to the manger.  Jesus was the main attraction.

Often we as Christians think it’s all about us, and how we look to the world – as though we must be perfect and put together before the lost, and lonely, and seeking can come in – keep Jesus the focus of your life, and then point others to Christ (not ourselves).

With all that Mary and Joseph experienced at Jesus’ birth, Mary still doesn’t understand it all. Later when Jesus begins his ministry at the wedding feast, she tells the servant to do what Jesus says, she knows he is a miracle worker. But later once he beings teaching, Mary and his brothers go to find him, Mark 3:21 “And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.” . . . (v. 31) “And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him.”

Being a Christian is a life long journey of treasuring and pondering God.

We see this same word for ponder (like Mary is doing) in Genesis 37 when Joseph is telling his brothers and his mom and dad about his dreams, “And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.” He is lining up the details and what has happened, and is trying to have it make sense.[3] Mary takes the events, experiences, and all that is going on around her and in that moment tries to be faithful and grow in her knowledge of God.

Solomon has been described as the wisest man to have ever lived, this wisdom was a gift from God, yet he had to put forth effort. Ecclesiastes 1:13 “And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.”

With Mary we see a believer treasuring and pondering, and with the shepherds we see a overflowing desire for others to see and experience what they have seen and experienced – the Savior of the world. Both reactions are apart of worship and what it means to be a follower of Christ. God wants us to think and put pieces together, (we will do this our whole lives and never approach fully understanding God), and to put our faith in action by going outside the walls of our church.

We don’t wait until we have it all figured out (we will never have it all figured out), and it is our knowledge and personal experience of our Savior that drives us to action. We are learning and growing as we are going and doing. If all you do is sit around and learn (you are too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good), and if you are just action, reacting and just doing something to be busy (you are ignorance on fire).

A while back on “The Merv Griffin Show,” the guest was a body builder. During the interview, Merv asked “Why do you develop those particular muscles?” The body builder simply stepped forward and flexed a series of well-defined muscles from chest to calf. The audience applauded. “What do you use all those muscles for?” Merv asked. Again, the muscular specimen flexed, and biceps and triceps sprouted to impressive proportions. “But what do you USE those muscles for?” Merv persisted. The body builder was bewildered. He didn’t have an answer other than to display his well-developed frame. I was reminded that our spiritual exercises–Bible study, prayer, reading Christian books, listening to Christian radio and tapes–are also for a purpose. They’re meant to strengthen our ability to build God’s kingdom, not simply to improve our pose before an admiring audience.[4]

Return to Worship (v. 20)

(v. 20) “The shepherds returned (literally, went back to work)[5], glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”  Sunday is over, the worship service is complete, Monday has arrived, and it’s time to go back to work. You know what this doesn’t say, is how many times they returned.  When God pours out His favor upon us, and we meet the Savior, we can’t help but want to return to meet with Jesus again, and again, and again – and worship Him because his Word is true “just as He said it would be.”

When the shepherds return to worship the Savior, they glorify (lift up), and Praise (to vocally lift up) – to lift up God with all that they are, “for all the things they had heard and seen” So why do we as Christians return to worship week after week, year after year? What did they see and hear, that we also see and hear? We return to worship because . . . We Are Reminded that;

 God desires to draw close to us; God sent an angelic messenger to appear before them, the heavenly host were dispatched, and they were given a very special message to share – God desires a relationship with His creation, so He sent a Savior.

 Luke 2:9-14 “And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” God wanted Jesus to be called “Immanuel, which means, God with us” (Isa. 7:14, Matthew 1:23).

John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” God desires to be close to his people. He did what was necessary to get rid of the thing that has kept us from Him – our sin.

There is meaning to life. The shepherds would return to their profession of taking care of the sheep, they would return to the pasture, but their lives were forever changed. Yes they were shepherds as before, but now they were people whom God had favored with salvation. We may all find our hands doing something with skill, craftsmanship, even calling but it is hollow without life purpose – but it is so much different when you do it for the Lord, when you seek to give Him glory first – then the profession.

Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” As the shepherds went about their routine of leading the sheep, seeing that they had water, protecting the sheep from predators, they would have been “glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen.”

With salvation also comes a work for us to do, which may be part of our profession, or in addition to it, Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” God created us and set us apart to do works prepared for us to do.

God presents wonders for us to treasure and ponder; For Mary, and angel had appeared to her and told her what was going to happen, then she became pregnant yet remained a virgin, she had given birth and there were very special guests (shepherds, magi eventually). God allows things to happen in our lives, that we should consider, ponder, and treasure.

Conclusion

________________________ 

[1] R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word, Luke, That You May Know the Truth (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publishing, 2015) 91.

[2] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume II (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1930) 25.

[3] Another example is in Daniel 7:28, when the prophet has a vision, “As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.”

[4] Gary Gulbranson, Leadership, Summer, 1989, 43.

[5] Herschel H. Hobbs, An Exposition of The Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Book House, 1972) 54.

“Why Should A Weary World Rejoice?” Luke 2:7-14 Part Two

Merry & Bright

A Christmas Sermon Series

“Why Should A Weary World Rejoice?”

Luke 2:7-14

Part Two

 Introduction

Prayer

Rejoice Because He is the Lord of Interruptions (vv. 1-5)

Rejoice Because He is the Lord of Time (v. 6)

Rejoice Because He is the Lord of Location (v. 7) 

“7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”

“wrapped him in clothes” was a normal child care method.  Other translations say that she wrapped Jesus in “swaddling cloths,” these were strips of cloths used to bind a baby tightly.  They sought to keep the limbs of the child straight and it kept the baby from scratching itself in the face.

Luke 23:53 says “Then he (Joseph of Arimathea) took it (the body of Jesus) down (from the cross), wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid.” The grave clothes, though tightly bond could not keep the Savior of the world in the ground.

The irony of the most important event in history taking place in a manger should not be lost sight of; it reveals how God elevates the lowly and humble and rejects the proud and mighty of this world.

Philippians 2:5-7 “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”

The manger is believed to be a feeding trough for animals.  Yet the Creator and sustainer of all that exists was laid in a dirty, foul smelling, feed trough.  If Jesus lived life this way, why should we expect any difference?  If we live better than His conditions, it is by the grace and love of God.

This morning you may be struggling with where you are in life.  You may ask “why has God brought me here?”  You must understand that He has a plan and even when you can’t see His hand, you can trust His heart. This morning we will look at how while Mary and Joseph are in deplorable living conditions for a woman who had just given birth – they have an open house to the world.  People from all over began to stop by and see the wonder of all wonders.

Rejoice Because God Loves All People (vv. 8-14)

8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others – the armies of heaven – praising God: 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors.”

The word “And” signifies for us that there was something that came before this passage.  In the preceding verses we see that a census was issued by the Roman emperor, so Mary and Joseph have to travel to their ancestral home, Bethlehem.  And upon arriving can find no place to stay except a barn, Jesus was born and laid in a manger.

While Christ’s birth is drawing to a close, angels are dispatched to tell a group of people about this very special child’s birth.  This is the most important event that had ever or will ever take place on this planet.  The very first people to hear of Christ’s birth were shepherds.

Shepherds did not live in luxurious homes, they did not carry many possessions, and as we find them here often have the few things they can carry and devote themselves to the care of their sheep.  On this night, they are awake, and are living outside, and watching their sheep at night against predators.

What was it about these shepherds that made them worthy of such honor?  Why would God want these guys in His house?  The answer is found in verse 14, there will be “peace on earth to all whom God favors” God did some awesome things that night just because he wanted to favor some shepherds who sleeping in a field, watching their sheep.  God had it in His heart to favor these men.

There is nothing that indicates they were super-shepherds, or that they had in any way earned or deserved this outpouring of God’s favor – but let’s look at how God favored them.

God Sends A Heavenly Messenger

First God sends them a heavenly messenger, and when they see this messenger Luke tells us that they were very afraid.  It says an “angel of the Lord appeared to them.” In just about ever instance where an angel appears before a person, they are struck with fear.

God Gives A Heavenly Appearing

“and the glory of the Lord shone around them” We see the glory of the Lord in Exodus 16:7,10 where in a cloud the people could look upon His glory and God  provided manna and quail for the Israelites to eat after they had complained.

In Exodus 24:17 God fills the top of Mt. Sinai with smoke and blasts of thunder.  It appeared “as a devouring fire.”  In Exodus 40:34 the Israelites had completed the Tabernacle and God’s presence entered it and appeared as a cloud, and as pillars of smoke and fire.

If you combine an angel and God’s glory shining around them, what you get is some very scared shepherds – why are they afraid?  Because when sinful mankind comes into the presence of a holy God or even His messengers, our sinfulness stands in stark contrast to God’s holiness.

All of our misgivings, flaws, evil deeds – everything is exposed, all of who we truly are is seen by God’s eye, and man’s natural response is to try and hide as best they can, we fall to our face before a consuming fire and close our eyes to try and shut out God’s glory.  But there is no place to go.

The shepherds are scared because they know that they are sinful the fear of a holy God causes them to shutter.   At this moment, when they are scared to death, the messenger speaks.

God Gives A Heavenly Message (vv. 10b-12)

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 He begins by saying don’t be afraid – I bring you some good news.  The good news of the gospel, a way is given to them for them to be forgiven of their sin and a way for them to be able to stand before God, not in fear, but in worship and love.

The messenger was giving these shepherds the most important news that has ever been told.  Not only was this good news for them, the good news is “for all the people.”

“in the town of David a Savior has been born to you” – In the book of 2 Samuel when the prophet Samuel went to anoint a new king for his people God told him to go to Jesse’s house, and it was his youngest son David whose head would be anointed.

David had to be brought in from watching the sheep.  Later when appealing to king Saul to allow him to fight Goliath, David gives examples where he had defended his sheep from bear and lion.  Not only does Jesus being born in Bethlehem fulfill prophecy, but it also describes to his people what this Christ will be like.  John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

The Savior would be just like them, except without sin. They were sleeping out in field, Jesus was lying in manger.  They were shepherds of sheep, Jesus as the Good Shepherd shepherded souls.  They had a humble lifestyle, Jesus emptied himself of glory and became a man, a suffering savior, and was described as having “no place to lay his head.”

Bethlehem was a tiny town, the Savior’s lineage would come through a little shepherd boy named David, and the eventual good news would be given first to a group of unknown shepherds.  God delights in pouring His favor on the young, the little, the weak, and the unknown.

“a Savior has been born”  What is a Savior? What are they being saved from?  Jesus who would grow in wisdom and stature, would teach as one who had authority, he would perform miracles to prove what He said was true.  He would die on a Roman cross and He would rise again three days later – he did all these things as a Savior.

The law shows us that all of us have sinned and fall short of God’s requirement to go to heaven.  We have all lied, stolen, dishonored our parents, thought lustful thoughts, been angry with someone – any one of these eternally separates us from God – He is holy and we are sinful.  And we stand before God guilty of committing sin, and we have no way of getting rid of it.

 Isaiah 53:6 “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”  Jesus by dying on the cross saved us by taking the punishment that we deserved.

God tells the shepherds in His grace and mercy how to find this child – who is the Savior of the world.  “12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”  This same grace and mercy is held out to us as well, He tells us clearly that this good news is for us as well today – we, like the shepherds, are given clear instructions as to how we can be saved from our sins.

 A Heavenly Host (vv. 13-14)

“Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others – the armies of heaven – praising God: 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors”

 God favors these shepherds by sending a heavenly messenger, shining His glory upon them, giving them the most important message ever given, and then to top it off, a vast number of angels sing a praise and worship song and they have a worship service – right there in the pasture.

 Mary and Joseph had an angel appear to them on separate occasions, God spoke to Joseph in a dream. But for this unknown group of shepherds, God gives them favor, upon favor, upon favor, upon favor.  Blessing, upon blessing.  What do you do when God offers such grace, forgiveness, mercy and love?

They knew that they were a sinful bunch, but they had received the good news of God. This morning you too can meet the Savior of the world, he no longer can be found in a manger, because having defeated death, hell, and the Enemy – he sits at the right hand of the Father and is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Conclusion

In this life we will always have to deal with an imperfect world where everything doesn’t go our way or as we had planned. But we must understand that God is sovereign and his plans are always carried out and accomplished perfectly.

If we had to tell the story of God’s birth on earth – it happened in a palace, not in a stable. He would be wrapped in the most expensive and beautiful cloth, not in mere rags.  He would be surrounded by servants, not animals and shepherds.  People would bow to him, and he surly would not be hunted.

Thank God our plans don’t work out, but Praise Him that his do.

This morning there is no better time for you to discover the path that He has for you and to discover the plans He has for you. Jeremiah 29:11-13 says “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

God’s first step in you following God is to accept His Son Jesus and the gift of his death on the cross. He was born on Christmas Day to die for us.  He did it as the only way for us to be forgiven of our sins.  His innocent blood had to be spilt.

I want you to think back over your life. What events has God worked out to get you here this morning?  What people has He brought across your path to tell you about His son?

God moved heaven and earth for you. Jesus traveled from the throne room of heaven to the trough of animals to save us from our sins. Don’t tell him this morning that there is no room for Him in your life. What are you going to do with Jesus’ gift? Romans 6:23 says “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”   There are only two options; receive the gift or reject the gift.

If you are a believer this morning, allow God to have more of you. Allow God to use the interruptions, your time, and your home as a place to bring Him glory.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith." Ephesians 2:8

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