Isaiah 48-49 God’s surprising plan: His Servant who will save the world.

MP3 link

Isaiah 48-49

(God saves rebellious sinful people through his servant)

What does 49:26 tell us about God? Does it challenge your view of God? Discuss.

We must allow the Bible to change our view of God. Debby has been meeting with the Jehovah’s Witnesses. They may as well have been reading two different books. Every time there’s something that goes against their theology, their idea of God, they just ignore it or explain it away. We must not do that! Otherwise we can end up worshiping an idol – a parody of God. God is bigger than our framework, our idea of him. We need to keep asking the question: “Where do you find it in the text?” We need to learn to read what they Bible actually says, not what we think the Bible says, or what we want the Bible to say.

We need to see ourselves and to see God as the BIBLE describes. Only the Bible is the revealed word of God. Only the Bible is untouched by sin. Only the Bible is God’s word written so that we can know Him.

Do you read your Bible?

My challenge to you is to start reading the Bible every day. If you have kids read it with them. Great way to get started.

Right, let’s jump into these chapters and widen our view of the God that we serve!

1. The sinful idolatrous people of God are disciplined and saved

2. The Lord has saved his people in the past – he can save his people today

3. The Lord saves through his Servant King

1. The sinful idolatrous people of God are disciplined and saved

Is 48 “Listen to me, O family of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel and born into the family of Judah. Listen, you who take oaths in the name of the Lord and call on the God of Israel. You don’t keep your promises, 2 even though you call yourself the holy city and talk about depending on the God of Israel, whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

Oh, oh, oh. I read these verses and I see myself here! How often do I TALK about depending on the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies – and yet when tested, I run to depend on myself. I shrink back in fear.

I don’t trust that God is in control. I have to keep reminding myself to trust him – and that trust is seen in obedience.

Why didn’t Israel obey the Lord? Why don’t WE obey the Lord?

Because we think he doesn’t see the evil we are doing.
Because we think he’s not in control so we’ve got to help him out (cheating, cutting corners, telling “white” lies)
Because we think His ways are not best – my solution is the best (lying, headship, divorce, porn, disciplining children, etc.)

4 [Our] necks are as unbending as iron. [Our] heads are as hard as bronze.
We stubbornly resist God’s will. We want to do our own will. So much so that we ignore the work of God around us.

5 That is why I told you what would happen; I told you beforehand what I was going to do. Then you could never say, ‘My idols did it. My wooden image and metal god commanded it to happen!’

God does something and we say I did it. We forget to thank God. We don’t praise him. That was Israel. That is us.

So what does God say to his people as they rebel against him?

1. V10 Discipline: I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.

2. V11 Salvation: I will rescue you for my sake— yes, for my own sake! I will not let my reputation be tarnished, and I will not share my glory with idols!

God’s discipline is often just allowing us to experience the consequences of our decisions. He lets us do what we want! Things do not go well when we rebel against God. When was the last time you sinned and thought “I’m so GLAD I did that.”?

Never!

It always brings pain. God doesn’t tell us to obey him just so he can get thrills – ooh they obey me! He tells us to obey him because that’s how life was created to work. That brings deepest pleasure, deep joy.

17 This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow. 18 Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.

Disobeying God brings pain. It’s like gravity – jump off the roof – ah for a moment it seems like you’re free from gravity, no consequences for disobeying gravity. Then crunch. We understand this physically. But it is the same morally and spiritually.

And some of us are slow learners, we need to be refined in the fire of suffering. Anyone here who finds they tend to disobey and need to be refined in the fire of suffering? Or am I the only one?!

When we rebel against God we experience his discipline. But if we are his people, we also experience salvation.

V11 God says I will rescue you. That in itself is amazing. But look at the reason he gives. Look at v11. What’s the reason? Because you’ve tried really hard… no. Because you’ve really had faith. No. Because you’ve turned over a new leaf and been really good. No. Because you live in Norway, the luckiest country in the world… no. for my sake (says the Lord in v11)— yes, for my own sake!

That gives us great confidence doesn’t it? Because our salvation like Israel’s salvation is not dependant on us. It is mercy from God, based on God, for God’s sake. It is not dependant on us. In fact it has very little to do with us. We just get blessed. Wow.

And this mercy runs through our whole life. So if you’re sitting here this morning knowing that you have sinned against God.... that would be all of us to varying degrees. If you’ve sinned against God know that you can be forgiven. No matter what you’ve done, no matter if you’ve even rejected the Lord again and again. You might have been acting towards God with a head of bronze – hard, stupid. And God can forgive you. Why? Because it’s not for your sake, based on what you have done. It is for God’s sake, for his glory, based on Him. So be confident that he can save.

The sinful idolatrous people of God are disciplined and saved. And that salvation we can depend on, because the Lord is powerful to save.

2. The Lord has saved his people in the past – he can save his people today

12 “Listen to me, O family of Jacob, Israel my chosen one! I alone am God, the First and the Last. 13 It was my hand that laid the foundations of the earth, my right hand that spread out the heavens above. When I call out the stars, they all appear in order.” 14 Have any of your idols ever told you this? Come, all of you, and listen: the Lord has chosen Cyrus as his ally. He will use him to put an end to the empire of Babylon and to destroy the Babylonian armies. 15 “I have said it: I am calling Cyrus! I will send him on this errand and will help him succeed. 16 Come closer, and listen to this. From the beginning I have told you plainly what would happen.

God does not beat around the bush with proving that he can save! This is not something we just have to blindly believe just have faith as if faith is something brainless. He shows us time and time again – evidence that He and He alone can save.

Look at the Israelites. They sinned against God and so Babylon sweeps in and takes them off into captivity. But God has not forgotten them. Even though they have sinned and rejected Him He has not rejected them. He will show mercy. And so He calls up Cyrus – a pagan unbelieving king. He raises a whole empire, with Cyrus at its head, in order to rescue his people

Is there anything God cannot do?

And we know this happened just as he promised. Cyrus arose, the Medo-Persian Empire swept into Babylon, and the people of God were set free. Just. As. God. Said.

How do we know what someone will do in the future? How do we know how they will act? Well, we look at how they’ve acted in the past? A friend of ours is a known liar – when he says “I’ll pay you back I promise” what do we think. Yeah right. That money’s gone. But when someone who always keeps their promises say “I’ll pay you back” we know it will happen.

Past actions predict future actions. People don’t change (unless the Holy Spirit gets involved – then people change! As we know very well in this church!). But apart from a miracle work of God, past actions predict future actions.

And God is the same. His past actions predict his future actions. He is not an idol, empty words, powerless to act. He says 3 Long ago I told you what was going to happen. Then suddenly I took action, and all my predictions came true.

In fact the whole way through these chapters again and again God reminds us that his words come true. “I have said” - and it happens. His power, his absolute power to make his words happen – that is what defines him as GOD - rather than, say, an idol.

It is no surprise that when Jesus was exactly the same. What he spoke happened. Whether it was speaking to the wind and the waves, or to demons, or predicting his arrest, crucifixion and resurrection from the dead – everything he said came true.

His words are true. His words are power.

So when he says he can save, he can save! And we know he can save because he’s shown us in the past. He has saved in the past, so he will save now, and he will save in the future.

But how does God save?

3. The Lord saves through his Servant

Is 49:1 Listen to me, all you in distant lands! Pay attention, you who are far away! The Lord called me before my birth; from within the womb he called me by name. 2 He made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword. He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand. I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver. 3 He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, and you will bring me glory.”

So chapter 49 opens like chapter 48, with the command to LISTEN! But this time it is not just Israel who are called to listen, but those in distant lands – those far away. Foreigners, those not God’s people. Gentiles (non-Jews) like us. We are to listen now as God speaks about his servant. Why? Because God’s servant is going to be a light to the Gentiles.

Who is this servant? One called from within the womb. Even before he was born he was called to this work. Unborn babies are people too. So, within the womb he’s called by name. He’s called to bring words of judgement, a sharp arrow. And in v3 he’s identified as Israel.
But Israel’s a complete failure! God just described them as people with heads like bronze. And a few chapters back (42:18) Israel was described as deaf and blind. Very unflattering! Hmm. Let’s read on…

4 I replied, “But my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose. Yet I leave it all in the Lord’s hand; I will trust God for my reward.” 5 And now the Lord speaks— the one who formed me in my mother’s womb to be his servant, who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him. The Lord has honoured me, and my God has given me strength.

V5 confirms our suspicions. Not Israel – but someone one of Israel, from Israel, sent to Israel to bring Israel back to God.
Perhaps someone like... Isaiah. A prophet, from Israel, sent to Israel. Not surprising he says “My work seems useless”. Israel are rebellious, heads like bronze, and things have got so bad that they’ve been booted out to Babylon! This was probably Isaiah’s heart cry as he saw where things were headed. My work seems useless.

Sometimes we feel like that don’t we? Maybe with other people, often with ourselves.
I will never be able to obey God in this area. It’s hopeless.

Israel will never turn back to God, will never be able to bless the world like God promised to Abraham. It’s hopeless. But what does this faithful servant say in v4 Yet I leave it all in the Lord’s hand; I will trust God for my reward.

Php 1:6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Php 2:13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

Even when things seem hopeless – God is at work. When we see our own power, when we see our circumstances, sometimes it does look hopeless ... but for God. As long as the Lord is on the throne there is hope.

5 The Lord has honoured me, and my God has given me strength. 6 He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

Lk 2:30–33 I have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared for all people. 32 He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!” 33 Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him.

Jesus is the light to the Gentiles, to us. Jesus came not as a mighty King but humble, despised and rejected by his own people and by the might of Rome. 7 despised and rejected by the nations. Jesus was crucified by Jews and Gentiles together, a lowly servant – a carpenter from a backwater village Nazareth. “Did anything good ever come from Nazareth” people said.

He came as a nobody, but He, Jesus, is the King of Kings. v7 continues “Kings will stand at attention when you pass by. Princes will also bow low because of the Lord, the faithful one, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

And what will this Servant greater than Kings do?

8 This is what the Lord says: “At just the right time, I will respond to you. On the day of salvation I will help you. I will protect you and give you to the people as my covenant with them. Through you I will re-establish the land of Israel and assign it to its own people again. 9 I will say to the prisoners, ‘Come out in freedom,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Come into the light.’

He will save us.

So 13 Sing for joy, O heavens! Rejoice, O earth! Burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on them in their suffering.

Dear friends, let us have confidence that even though our necks have been like iron and our foreheads like bronze. Even though we have sinned against God time and time again – we can be forgiven. He forgave the Israelites. He can forgive us. In and through Jesus, the humble King, the Suffering servant, the one who came to die in our place in order to bring his people – us – back to God.

Let us sing and shout with joy. This is awesome news. The new creation will echo with this word of praise. Our lives shout aloud that Jesus is our Lord. That he has saved us. Let us live out loud – obedient to him, and sharing the good news that God can save his people. Who can you share this with?

Think now, in a moment of quiet of one person you can share this joyous news with. God can save you. Yes you. No matter what you’ve done.

1 minute

Now as we go into confession, let us think about our own lives where we have had heads like bronze, and confess our sins to God, knowing that he is faithful to forgive us.

Isaiah 43:18-44:5 Salvation is about God, not about us.

Isaiah 43:18-44:5

Have a look at this picture. It’s the famous ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo, showing the creation of man. God, in all his glory, giving man the divine spark of life.

But this is what we often reduce God to. This is from the Christian comic artist Adam4d. We reduce God to the genie out of Aladdin. We want him to jump out when we call, and say “Poof! What do you want, Master.”

That is what Israel had been doing with God. But life does not work our way. We are not the master. Life is not designed to glorify us. All creation exists for one purpose and one purpose only: to glorify God.

And that’s the only way it works. Everything is designed to glorify God. And when we go against that things go wrong. It’s like trying to run a freight train off the rails. Evertyhing goes wrong. A train is designed to travel on rails. On rails – good. Off rails – very, very bad!

And we, and everything around us, are like that. Living to God’s glory – good. Living against God, ignoring God, rebelling against God – very, very bad. For us! We must learn from the painful lessons Israel learned! They treated God like a genie. They put themselves over God. And things went very wrong. So now they’re in exile and Jerusalem lies in ruins.

It is actually in our own self-interest to live God’s way. The problem is, even if we see it, even if we know what is right, we still don’t do it. We are spiritually blind. Don’t believe me? Think about this: we all agree it is wrong to lie. Right, that’s what you teach your kids: “Don’t lie”. How many of us in this room tell lies. How many of you have told a lie? Everyone who’s told a lie stand up. Well, I know it’s not just me!!

So our first point this morning is from v18-25 We are spiritually blind, which leads to suffering and judgement.
And our second point is But God as chapter 43 begins. But God saves us because of God. It’s his decision. It’s his choice. For his glory.

1. We are spiritually blind which leads to suffering and judgement (42:18-25)

Is 42:18 “Listen, you who are deaf! Look and see, you blind! 19 Who is as blind as my own people, my servant? Who is as deaf as my messenger? Who is as blind as my chosen people, the servant of the LORD? 20 You see and recognize what is right but refuse to act on it. You hear with your ears, but you don’t really listen.”

Israel are spiritually, morally blind. They know what is right… but they don’t do it. Has anything changed in 3000 years?
All of us are guilty, blind, even by our own standards of right and wrong, never mind God’s standards! Ever had a new year’s resolution: this year I’m going to change this. This will be different. How many of those did you actually keep? We fall even by our own standards! How ridiculous to think we can be acceptable to God, even we’re not even acceptable to ourselves. How blind!

Now, we often give ourselves a free pass when we fail to live up to our own standards. Well, I was tired. She was horrible, so I had to be horrible back. Telling a lie was totally the right thing to do in this situation. We brush off our failures, our sins, with ah, it doesn’t matter. And that’s because we’re not holy.

But God is holy. He is perfect in his goodness. And he cannot just brush away our sins.
Imagine you’ve just been robbed – everything you own has been stolen. And the policeman who comes to investigate suddenly says “ah, you know what, it’s not important”. And leaves!
Or the judge in a murder trial says, “yawn, it doesn’t matter. Case dismissed.”
What!!! That’s unjust! That’s not right! That’s not fair!

That would be like God ignoring our sin. Our rebellion against him. Imagine all the horrors of World War 2. Ah doesn’t matter says God. Or the ongoing war in Sudan. Who cares says God, I love everyone. That would make us mad. Or that person who really hurt us in third grade, who said horrible things the whole year until we just exploded. Doesn’t matter? Or what about the lies that I’ve told. Or the people that I’ve hurt? We’ve all done it. Done things we reject. Said something really hurtful. Done something we’ve regretted ever since. Would it be right for us just to be let off the hook. For God to says “it doesn’t matter”. No.

21 Because he is righteous, the LORD has exalted his glorious law.

Because God is righteous. Because he is good. We mistake being good with being polite or being nice. You know, shine your shoes, don’t say anything offensive. But that’s not goodness. Being good – standing up for what is right – can make you a real pain. Think about people standing up to protest against injustice, often going to jail, even being killed because people get so angry with them. God is that kind of good – but a lot more. God is frighteningly good!
God is terrifying to us precisely because he is good! Because his perfect goodness shows up our imperfect goodness. It’s like getting dirt all over your clothes in the night – you know you brush past the car in winter and when you come inside, into the light – oh, look at how dirty I am!
Meeting God’s righteousness is seeing how dirty we are. It is a painful thing to become a Christian, because it involves admitting I am dirty. I am a sinner. Compared to God, I am not good. I need a saviour.

21 Because he is righteous, the LORD has exalted his glorious law.

God is righteous which means he upholds his good law. God has created this world with laws. In science we investigate his physical laws, like gravity. But God also created moral laws. And when you try to break the laws of gravity, like jumping from the roof and saying I can fly – the results are painful. The same is when we disobey God’s moral laws. When we ignore him, do not worship him. When we lie, when we hurt others. When we ignore his laws on sex and marriage. When we hate our enemies and give in to anger and bitterness and revenge – instead of being like him. Soon everything spirals down into chaos. Some of us know this well. We have lived without God, against God, and our lives are a mess. Like Israel.

22 But his own people have been robbed and plundered, enslaved, imprisoned, and trapped. They are fair game for anyone and have no one to protect them, no one to take them back home.

The point of all this, though is to teach us! For us to learn: 23 Who will hear these lessons from the past and see the ruin that awaits you in the future? 24 Who allowed Israel to be robbed and hurt? It was the LORD, against whom we sinned, for the people would not walk in his path, nor would they obey his law. 25 Therefore, he poured out his fury on them and destroyed them in battle. They were enveloped in flames, but they still refused to understand. They were consumed by fire, but they did not learn their lesson.

What should they understand? To listen to the Lord and obey him. To stop living their own way. To stop worshipping idols. Last week we saw how we are all idolators. An idol is not just something made of wood or stone or gold, not just a thing, but anything that takes God’s place in our life. Even good things like family or spouse (husband or wife), exercise, even church – can take the place of God. That is an idol.
You see, some of us have been lucky enough to grow up in Norway, a country where God’s laws have been known for a 1000 years and followed to a large extent, so our lives have pretty much worked out well. Norway is a fantastic country to live in. But we don’t know the Lord, don’t know why things have worked. We are like Israel described in 43: 22 “But, dear family of Jacob, you refuse to ask for my help. You have grown tired of me, O Israel! 23 You have not brought me sheep or goats for burnt offerings. You have not honoured me with sacrifices, though I have not burdened and wearied you with requests for grain offerings and frankincense.

We’ve just ignored God. Well, thanks for your gifts, but I don’t need you, I’m doing a good job with my life.

What do you think God’s response will be?

Learn from history. Learn from the mistakes of others. Because if you make this mistake, if you ignore God, thinking it will be ok, well, history tells us exactly how it will go.

25 Therefore, he poured out his fury on them and destroyed them in battle. They were enveloped in flames, but they still refused to understand. They were consumed by fire, but they did not learn their lesson.

The future for those who ignore God, who live against God, is dark. It is fire, it is bloodshed, it is suffering and pain.

We are spiritually blind. But there is hope.

2. But God – God’s salvation is because of God. His choice (v10) for his glory (v7)

Is 43 But now, O Jacob, listen to the LORD who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.

I hear a lot of rubbish these days about people seeking God, taking steps of faith, and that God doesn’t know who is going to respond to him. We are BLIND. We are in darkness. Look at v1. I have ransomed. I have called you. Salvation is his work from start to finish.

Praise God! It is his work. How does he do this? Well, remember last week the servant was going to open the eyes of the blind. (42:7) 7 You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.

It is the servant, the servant of God who will do these things. And as we follow the Bible story through the centuries, the amazing, surprising, wonderful thing, is that this servant is God himself. Yes, the mighty King, the messiah, the rescuer, the Mighty Warrior, Lord of Heaven’s Armies: came as a baby, small, vulnerable, humble. Jesus shrunk himself down to nothing, to become like one of us. He lived among us, becoming one of us in order - not to judge, not to condemn – but to rescue by taking our place.

And he does this because he wants to. It is his action, his motivation. It’s not because we, or Israel before us, have sacrificed enough or been religious enough or given enough money to charity or got baptised and confirmed in den norske kirke!

No, he saves us when we’re busy ignoring him! Look at v22-2522 “But, dear family of Jacob, you refuse to ask for my help. You have grown tired of me, O Israel! 23 You have not brought me sheep or goats for burnt offerings. You have not honoured me with sacrifices, though I have not burdened and wearied you with requests for grain offerings and frankincense. 24 You have not brought me fragrant calamus or pleased me with the fat from sacrifices. Instead, you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your faults. Not looking good is it. And if salvation was based on our performance, it wouldn’t be good. But just look at v25. “I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.

That’s why He says in v1 “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.”

He’s ransomed us – paid the price to set us free. It’s like we’ve been kidnapped “give a million dollars or else” – and he’s paid the cost to set us free. Why? Because we are his, we belong to Him. He is our Father. We are His children. And under his protection. And so, no matter what life throws at us, we are safe.

2 When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. … 5 “Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will gather you and your children from east and west. 6 I will say to the north and south, ‘Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel from the distant corners of the earth. 7 Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them.’

Now the background here remember is that the people of Israel are in Babylon. Jerusalem was defeated and all the people taken away, out of the Promised Land, into exile. And God is saying don’t worry about the journey back, I will make sure you get to your destination. I will bring you back to the promised land.

For us, our Promised Land is not Israel (thank goodness). Ours is heaven – the new creation, where we will see God face to face. That is where Jesus has promised to take us. No crying no mourning no death no sin. All will be at peace. That is where we are going. And if we are in Christ nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, can stop us from getting there. Not even our own sin! If we are his, we are His.

Now these verses don’t mean that if you are a Christian you can leap into a burning building and you’ll be fine. Or jump into a raging river and not drown. You will. But it does mean that no matter what happens, even if your life falls to pieces around you, you are safe.

A man by the name of Horatio Spafford went through fire and raging flood. It was 1871, he was a lawyer in Chicago, had invested well in property – and then the great Chicago Fire burned it all up and he lost nearly all his wealth. Gone. He started to build up again but two years later in 1873 the economy crashed. He had been planning to travel to Europe with his wife and four daughters, but had to stay behind to try to sort out his financial mess. The ship his wife and four daughters were travelling in sank while crossing the Atlantic, and Horatio received this telegram from his wife “Saved alone…”
His daughters were dead. His business was in ruins.

How do you respond at a time like that?

We know how he responded. On his way to meet his wife he passed the point where the ship sank and his daughters drowned. And it was there he wrote the hymn “It is well with my soul:
When peace like a river, attendeth my way, (when things are going well). When sorrows like sea billows roll; (when things are going badly). Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know, It is well, it is well, with my soul. (Whatever happens, we are secure. God is in control). My favourite verse is verse 3: “My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! My sin, not in part but the whole, (all my sin) Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Brothers: may that be our cry this week, this month, this year, and beyond. No matter what happens, let us rejoice, for we are secure. We are safe in his hands.

One last thing. These promises are for those who belong to Christ. He died for his own, his chosen people. So the question is: are you one of his people. Do you belong to him? Because if not, your own your own. And you will not get to the Promised Land. It is not well with your soul. I urge you to learn from history. Learn from the Israelites – what happened to them when they abandoned God. Learn from your own life, your own mistakes. Repent – that is turn from living your own way, and turn to God. Ask him for help.

Dear God, I have no right to ask you for help. I have ignored you. I have lived without you. But I have heard that you are full of mercy. So please save me. For the sake of your name and for your glory. I want to belong to you. And I want you to be my God. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Exodus 12:1-20 All dressed up and nowhere to go?

Exodus 12:1-20

You smell smoke. Fire! And then the fire alarm starts ringing. And someone runs in: Fire!

How do you respond? Ikke så farlig. Doesn’t matter. Or do you get up and run?

See, you belive that fire is dangerous, you believe that you can escape by getting outside and so your belief, your faith, translates in to action: run!

2 “From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you.” It’s a bit of hint that what’s about to come next is a Very Important Thing. This is a Big Event. This is so big that in the future the whole year will be structured around this event. Kind of like fellesferie in Norway! Or Christmas even. It is the high point of the year.

Why? Because this is what everything has been heading towards. This is why Moses was saved as a little baby in a reed boat. This is why he grew up in Pharaoh’s palace. This is why God called him out of the desert from the burning bush and made him the saviour of the people. This is why there has been plague and rebellion. This moment, when God will act to rescue his people, to judge the rebellious, and to pass over his people. This is also the moment when Israel has to take action. They need to respond in faith, acting as if God’s word is true.

1. God remembers his promises

While the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt, the LORD gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron: - yes, yes seen it all before – go and tell Pharaoah… but no look at v3 Announce to the whole community of Israel

This is the first time the Israelites have been in the story since way back in chapter 6. The first time God has spoken to them. Like I said last week, they were bedraggled, beaten, given up. Not exactly people of faith!
But now they had SEEN God’s power at work. Here was the Living God, speaking and then what he said would happen, happened! There will be blood – and there was blood. He said “frogs” and there were frogs everywhere. “Gnats”, and gnats were everywhere. And you can imagine the longsuffering Israelites just being stoic about it. You know, “here we go, more to suffer through”. Things are worse than ever.

And then God says “I will show you that I make a distinction between the Egyptians and my people”. And suddenly they are protected! The land is filled with flies – but no flies surround them. Animals die – but not theirs. Hail falls – but not on their fields. Darkness falls, but they are in the light. Could it be? Is God... for us? But we are nothing - how can this be?

Do you not understand? You are his people. His favour rests upon you. His salvation is secure.

But we have no faith. We have forgotten our God.

Ah, but God remembered you. Remember Ex 2:24-25 God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act.

What was his promise? God’s word to Abraham in Gen 15:13–16 Then the LORD said “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land for 400 year. They will be oppressed as slaves. 14 But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. 16 After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.”

The Israelites should have known this. They should have been secure, knowing that the time had come for rescue! Just like we should trust that when Jesus says that he will return.

How would life as an Israelite have been different if they had believed the word of the Lord? The temptation to compromise, side with the Egyptians, would be gone. The desire to obey God and serve him with gladness would be there. You could endure because you have hope, hope of a rescue that is coming. Well, it is the same for us. What difference does it make to you knowing that Jesus will soon return?

If I really believe that, really live my life like that. The toil of this life will soon be done. The greed and grabbing all you can – be generous. The need to compromise with the world – sex, drugs, entertainment, selfish behaviour, “me-time”, boozing it up, buying buying buying, having the best this or that or dreaming of the perfect life, the perfect house, the perfect husband. What difference does it make that Jesus will return? Perhaps today?

God remembers his promises. You can be secure in that. He has shown his power in raising Christ from the dead. And the warning is clear: fire! Judgement is coming. Get out.

And we must respond.

2. When God speaks his people respond in faith.

3 Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight.
7 They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal. 8 That same night they must roast the meat over a fire and eat it along with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast.
11 “These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed, wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the LORD’s Passover

See, the Israelites had, like us, been shown God’s awesome power. They had seen the plagues. We have seen the whole history of Bible, with the very son of God showing his power over sickness and evil spirits, and showing his love as he takes our place, and showing his power even over death!

They had seen his power – and now they are called to respond. Take a lamb or goat and sacrifice it. Roast the animal and eat it. Put its blood on your doorframes to be saved. Eat your meal dressed for a journey.
This is “faith”. Faith is acting like God’s word is true based on the evidence in front of you. They had to dress for a journey because God has promised to rescue them. They took action – putting on journey clothes. That’s faith.

But faith is based on EVIDENCE. God does not demand that we “just have faith” as in the way it’s often used today – just to throw yourself out there. That’s the sort of New Age idea “just believe” and the “universe” will give you good vibrations back or something. That’s just nonsense. Who lives like that?!
The Bible demands that we use our minds, that we investigate. Biblical faith is based on evidence. Notice that God does not ask the Israelites to do anything until they have SEEN the EVIDENCE of his powerful word in action. NINE plagues are a pretty good indication that God can do what he says he will do.

And now they are called to respond.

I’m sure some had doubts. Oh, I’ll look like such a fool – all dressed up and nowhere to go. And tomorrow I’ve got to be at work. I’ll be whipped if I’m late.
You can imagine the Egyptian neighbours looking on and laughing as they smeared blood on their doorposts. Haha look at these primitive slaves. Like some blood on your door could save you. Hahahaaaa.

Haha. You Christians and your zombie Jesus. Like a dead man could ever save you. Primitive nonsense. We’ve moved on from then. Now we have science!

But science is based on evidence. And the evidence is before the eyes of the Egyptians: the Israelite God is supremely powerful. But they will not see it. Because if they see it they might have to believe. And if they believe they might have to respond, humble themselves and say “you are God”.

And the evidence is that 2000 years ago Jesus rose from the dead just like he said he would. Many saw him afterward, including a crowd of 500 people. It was really him. But he was different. He could do things like walk through walls – but he was no ghost because he could eat food with them. He had a resurrection body – his body, only... better. The evidence was plain to see. If you really believed “science”, you would believe in Jesus! As he had said, he conquered death. His awesome power to heal, his power of creation – which nobody could deny, not even his enemies – that stretched even to death. Who was this man? He was no ordinary man. Jesus is something more.

Then when we look at the promises of Scripture we see, wow, this is the Holy One of Israel. This is the Messiah, the promised saviour. This is the fulfilment of all God’s promises – from right back in Gen 12 to bless all the nations through Abraham.

See, faith in Jesus is not just some pie in the sky. Some happy thoughts to get us through the dark day. The important thing about faith is NOT having faith – that’s just stupid. Everyone has faith. What is important about faith is the object of your faith – what are you putting your faith in.

The Egyptians put their faith in their gods, in their king. And were battered by blood and hail and frogs and darkness and ultimately death.

The Israelites who responded in faith and trusted that obeying God’s word would save them, however str4ange it may have seemed to paint blood on your door or to eat a meal with your coats and boots on and suitcases ready – those who trusted God and obeyed him were saved. They were rescued and given life – the plague of death did not touch them.

Those of us today who put our faith in Jesus - we will live forever. We will pass through death and be raised to live by him. This is based on evidence. His word is trutsworthy, His Spirit is active. He does what he says he will do. We have experienced the Living God, personally, intimately. And one day we will see our God face to face.

So live like it, dear brothers and sister. As we read recently in Col 3:1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

When God speaks his people respond in faith.

3. God’s people remember what God has done

14 “This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the LORD. This is a law for all time. 15 For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. On the first day of the festival, remove every trace of yeast from your homes. Anyone who eats bread made with yeast during the seven days of the festival will be cut off from the community of Israel.

Reading all this about yeast immediately reminded me of a well-known yet rather puzzling statement Jesus makes in Mark 8:15 As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.”

16 At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. 17 Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don’t you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in?

Oh, haha, those dull disciples. Obviously Jesus wasn’t talking about bread. They’re so dull. He’s obviously making a spiritual point. And then we all nod wisely at each other, all the while felling a bit uncomfortable because we’re not entirely sure exactly what Jesus meant either and to be perfectly honest, feeling a bit “dull” ourselves. Beware the yeast of the Pharisees. What’s that all about?

And why would you be cut off from the community just for baking a bit of bread with yeast in it on one of those seven days. A bit harsh isn’t it? I mean, really?

Anyone who eats bread made with yeast during the seven days of the festival will be cut off from the community of Israel.

Well, bread with yeast takes time. It needs to be set aside in a warm place for many hours to rise – something that you can’t do when you are leaving the country. No-one ever said just before leaving for the airport – let me just mix up a batch of bread. If you had to have bread, you would make flatbread – bread you could bake immediately. But bread with yeast takes hours!

During the Festival of Unleavened Bread (leaven is an old word for yeast so Unleavened Bread is bread without yeast: Flatbread). So during the Flatbread Feast they were celebrating the Exodus, the rescue of God’s people from Egypt when he lead them out. It was a symbol, a reminder that they left that very night, dressed to travel, after the Passover. Therefore, during this feast, do you see how serious it is to make bread with yeast? How you are saying by your actions I want no part in the rescue of Israel. I will not be leaving. I have time to make bread with yeast and wait for it to rise because I’m not going. I don’t want to be part of God’s people. I don’t trust his word.

And which is why Jesus warns his disciples against the empty religion of the Pharisees. They are not willing to follow Jesus. And so they are remaining in a spiritual Egypt, and will face God’s judgement. Jesus had come to lead a new Exodus – all those enslaved by sin, facing death, could place their trust in him, be covered by his blood, and be rescued from slavery.

That is what it means to be a Christian. We are dressed for a journey. This world is not our home – we look for another. We follow Jesus wherever he may ask us to go, whenever he tells us. We smear his blood on our lives, trusting that he will pass over our sin on that judgement day. He is our Passover Lamb. And we avoid the “yeast” of anything that takes our focus off him and makes us want to stay put in “Egypt”. This is not our home.

One of the ways we do that is by remembering what the Lord has done. 14 “This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the LORD. This is a law for all time.

Each year the Israelites celebrated (or should have celebrated) their Passover and Exodus. That was for them. But we still celebrate it today. It is still remembered and celebrated for all time.

Because we remember our Passover, the true Passover which this one here was only foreshadowing, we remember it here each Sunday in the communion. We remember that our Lord gave his body, shed his blood, the sacrificial lamb dying in our place so that his judgement would pass over us. We remember that we belong to him, that our sins are covered.

Praise God that he remembered us, remembered his promise to Abraham to bless all nations, and sent his son to rescue us.

And we respond in faith, trusting in his Son, our Lord Jesus, and living for him. Remembering what he has done each day, celebrating his rescue. Our sins are covered, we are set free! We belong to Him! Praise the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!

Exodus 1:1-14 Aliens and strangers

Exodus 1:1-14

How does God work in the world today?
Does he wind up the world like a clock and then let it run down?
Does he send down a bunch of operating instructions (the Bible, for example) and then wait and see what happens?
Does he play with us like dolls, like a child, and we are mere puppets in his play?

What we learn in Exodus is that none of those are correct. The reality is that God is sovereign (in control) and active in His world. And we are not puppets but real people with real choices and real responsibility, and somehow our choices and God’s sovereignty go hand in hand. God is active, for his glory – and we can be part of his glorious salvation plan!

Exodus takes place in history. These are historical events with real people and in real places. The Bible is not embarrassed by this, this dependence on provable (or disprovable) events. God reveals himself to us through time and history, through events that human being experience. This is not a book of dry philosophy, thoughts we must thing about God. Greek philosophy and Oriental mysticism always seek to remove man from nature, from creation. Matter is dirty. From Buddhism to Zoroastrianism to Hinduism to Star Wars (“luminous beings are we, not this crude matter” says Yoda) we are spiritual beings, and we must seek to throw off the shackles of the material.

The other extreme is of course our Western materialism which assumes that there is only a material world, that the spiritual does not exist.

The Bible is an embarrassment to both. Materialism is revealed to be only part of the picture – but spiritualism has a faulty view of the material. Remember that the end of the story is not that we become a bunch of floaty angelic spirit beings, sitting in white light playing harps – but a new heavens and a new earth, with new imperishable bodies (that is, bodies that cannot be destroyed).

So in Exodus we see great material events with great spiritual significance. It is what is called theological history. Theos is the Greek word for God, so theological history is history in relation to God or history through God’s eyes.
This year we’ve spent a long time reading theological history in the book of Acts. In Acts we’ve been reading the events of the growth of the Christian church, and at each point we are shown how it is God who is behind these events, how it is He who is growing his church, sending out missionaries, converting people. He is the Prime Mover of church history.

And we find the same revealed here in Exodus. It is God who orchestrates these events in order to reveal to us who he is: his character, his power, his glory, his Name. A refrain throughout the Old Testament is this “that you/they may know that I am the Lord (YHWH)”. He is the Prime Mover in all of history for one purpose: that we may know him. John Piper, based on Jonathan Edwards work, sums up the Bible, and indeed all of history, to be about one thing: the glory of God.

Ex 14:4 I have planned this in order to display my glory through Pharaoh and his whole army. After this the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD!

We are not the hero of the Bible stories. It is Christ. He is the hero of the Bible. Remember Jesus’ words to the Pharisees: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” (John 5:39-40 (ESV))

And remember what we learned from Colossians: Col 1:26–27 This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. 27 For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret (or mystery): Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

Exodus is about Christ, and reveals to us the glory of God.

With that in mind, let us turn to the introduction to the book.

1. The people of Israel are blessed 1:1-7

These are the names of the sons of Israel (that is, Jacob) who moved to Egypt with their father, each with his family: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, 4 Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5 In all, Jacob had seventy descendants in Egypt, including Joseph, who was already there. 6 In time, Joseph and all of his brothers died, ending that entire generation. 7 But their descendants, the Israelites, had many children and grandchildren. In fact, they multiplied so greatly that they became extremely powerful and filled the land.

Here we have listed the twelve tribes of Israel, named after the twelve sons of Jacob (called Israel). And look how numerous they have become. V7 In fact, they multiplied so greatly that they became extremely powerful and filled the land.

The opening verse of Exodus remind us that God keeps his promises. What promise, you may ask? Turn back to Gen 12:1–3 The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

It’s an echo of the covenant (promise) God made to Adam Gen 1:28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it.”

The Lord is keeping his promise, Abraham’s descendants filling the land, becoming as numerous as the starts in the night sky, or sand on the seashore (Gen 22:17, God’s promise to Isaac, Abraham’s son). V9 is the first time Israel is called a “people”. The Lord is keeping his promise.

But not all of the promise is fulfilled, is it? They’re not in the Promised Land, are they? They are in Egypt! And so Exodus opens with a problem – how to get the people of God to move from their comfortable houses and good lands in Egypt, and get them to the Promised Land.

The start of God’s fulfilment of his promise to Abraham is surprising: the plan to bless Israel started with a declaration of slavery! (v11)

How powerful God is. How majestic. How surprising. How different. His ways are not our ways, his thoughts not our thoughts. He is a master at using our evil for good.

How often does something terrible happen to us – which later we see is of such a deep blessing to us. When I was at Sagavoll (here in Gvarv), one of my classmates killed himself – hanged himself in the cellar of our dormitory. And I discovered his body. That experience was like a wrecking ball whistling through my carefully constructed life. At one moment I was laid bare – and I realised that, at the end of the day, there is nothing but me and God. I stand before him, alone. Nothing else. It shook me up, and was the beginning of God’s saving work in my life (he saved me 9 months later in Drammen. Bing, the lights came on!). But that experience, terrible as it was in seeing my friends corpse, is not something I would ever give up. God used that to save me. God used that to show me where I stood with him. He knocked away all my other support structures to show me that He is enough.

The Israelites found themselves enslaved. And so what do they do? They cry out to the Lord. They realise they are helpless, that they need him. And they experience the most amazing rescue that history has ever seen – other than the cross of Christ.

God keeps his promise. His people will be blessed in slavery and in rescue. They will know that he is the Lord, and his name is glorious.

But before we carry on, let’s take a quick step back through the chapters of Genesis we skipped over, and get ourselves up to speed. Context is key to understanding the Bible, so what have we missed?

2. Genesis 22-50

Earlier on this year we covered the life of Abraham. If you’ve missed that series, download it and listen to it. What we saw was how God chose this man Abraham to be the start of his salvation plan for the world. We’ve already read the promise God made to Abraham in Gen 12:1-3, and the rest of the Bible follows the fulfilment of that promise: land, people, and blessing. The land of Canaan (Israel), the people of Israel, and the blessing of knowing God, and sharing that knowledge with the nations (Israel was a kingdom of priests, a light to the nations – at least, they should have been!). All this finds its fulfilment ultimately in Christ. We know Israel mess things up – sinning at every turn and generally behaving like…well, a lot like us if we’re perfectly honest! The Old Testament ends with the Abrahamic Covnenant still unfulfilled, and carries the tension “how can a holy God forgive unholy people”.
All that is solved in Christ. His death covers our sins and we receive his righteousness. And he fulfils the Abrahamic Covenant: we are his people, the church from every nation and tribe and people-group; we are blessed, his Holy Spirit is with us and in us; and our land is the New Creation, promised and guaranteed.

But that’s the end of the story. We’re still at the start. We saw how Abraham lived in a “bubble” of blessing – the Lord had promised to bless him and so he was blessed, even though, as we saw, he certainly did not deserve it, as he sinned against the Lord, a faithless, cowardly, adulterous man. Yet God forgave him and loved him. Gives us hope doesn’t it! If Christ can cover the sins of Abraham, he can cover our sins.

When we left Genesis, in chapter 23, Sarah had died and been laid to rest. Abraham bought a burial plot because of his faith in the Lord. It is the first piece of land he owns in the land promised to him by the Lord. He buys it, instead of accepting it as a gift, because he trusts that the Lord will keep his promises. For Abraham, it is a deposit guaranteeing (looking forward with certainty) his inheritance (the land). In the same way the Holy Spirit is our deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. We know that we will be with Christ upon the new Earth because the Spirit is with us now. (Eph 1:13-14)

In Chapter 24 which we hopped over, the story starts to focus in on Isaac and Rebekah, his wife, provided by the hand of God, and we see that God is blessing Isaac, just as he had promised. As we read in 25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who settled near Beer-lahai-roi in the Negev.
Because the story has now moved on from Abraham to Isaac. Chapter 25 spends a few verses on the final years of Abraham – and that’s basically it. Abraham’s part in this tale is over, his job is done – but God’s plan – oh, that is just beginning! Wait and see what God will do! After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac.

Isaac marries Rebekah, the bride given by God. A bride who is once again barren – oh no, what will happen to God’s promise? Ge 25:21–22 Isaac pleaded with the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. And God remembers his promise: The LORD answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins.

Those twins were Easu and Jacob. Jacob was a conniving sneak, as was Rebekah! And yet God chose him, despite the fact that he was the younger twin, despite the fact that he was a cheat and a thief and a liar, and Jacob receives the promises of God and birthright of the firstborn. God forgives and blesses sinners! Are we getting the message yet?
Jacob has two significant experiences: In Gen 28, in a dream he sees ladder between heaven and earth, and the Lord confirms the Abrahamic Covenant with him. The Covenant is the bridge, the way from earth to heaven, the Covenant which is fulfilled in Christ Jesus our Lord, whose outstretched arms ont eh Cross bridged heaven and earth as he gave his life so that sinners like us could be made righteous to be with the Righteous One, God Almighty.

Jacob’s second experience was when he received the name Israel. In a rather strange tale, Jacob wrestles with God (in Gen 32), and is renamed “Israel” which means “God fights” or “fights with God”, and is blessed, receiveing assurance that the Lord is with him and the Covenant is reaffirmed.

Israel then has twelve sons (unsurprisingly his wife Rachel was barren – oh no! But God again steps in to honour his promise). One of these sons was Joseph, and that brings me to my final point in setting the scene for Exodus.

3. Joseph, saviour of the world

8 Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done.

What had he done? Well, we already know that Joseph was one of the twelve sons of Jacob, from which come the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph was Jacobs favourite son because he was Rachel’s son, and Rachel was his true love – his other wife Leah, and their two servants he slept with…out of duty, I suppose? The books of Israel’s history hardly ever stop to condemn what the characters are doing – like polygamy and adultery is bad. No, it just tells the story, unfolds the consequences of those actions. Jacob’s multiple sexual partners ended up with a bunch of brothers who hated Joseph, because he was the favourite. It didn’t help that Joseph had a dream that they would all bow down to him, including their father and mothers. This made them furious and so they plotted to kill him.

Out in the fields Joseph came to them, and they attacked him, tore off his coat of many colours – the special coat given to him by his father Jacob, and threw him into a pit while they decided how to kill him. At that time a group of traders just happened to pass by, and the brothers thought “why kill him, when we can make a bit of money”, and sold him into slavery. The traders took him to Egypt. Little did they know that there evil actions, their prostitution of brotherly love – even that God would use, and turn into salvation for the whole world, including them!

Joseph learned humility as a slave, and worked hard for his new master, Potiphar. But Potiphar’s wife wanted to have sex with him, and when he refused, running away (good job Joseph), she falsely accused him of sexually assaulting her, and so he was thrown in jail, wrongly accused. But God had not forgotten him. At the right time he was brought before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, because of a dream he had. None of the wise men of Egypt could understand it, but God gave Joseph understanding: there would be a famine in the land, and this is how they were to prepare for it. Pharaoh was so amazed that he raised Joseph up to the highest position in the land, and gave Joseph charge over the preparations for the famine.

The severe famine came to the lands, lasting for seven years, but because of Joseph, Egypt was blessed and suffered no ill effects of the famine. People from the lands around came to Egypt for food, including, would you believe it, Joseph’s brothers! They came to ask him for food, but they did not recognise him, until he told them who he was. Joseph forgave them, understanding that what they had intended for evil, God had worked for good. There was great joy as the family was reunited by the love of God.

So that is what v8 is talking about: Joseph, the saviour of Egypt, and indeed, the world. But there is more to Joseph’s story.

Joseph was rejected by his own people, betrayed by his brothers for twenty pieces of silver, unjustly punished by the Gentiles for crimes he did not commit, but he was not forgotten by God, but exalted to the highest place in all the land where he saved the whole world. Sound familiar?

Philippians 2:6–11 Though [Christ Jesus] was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. 9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honour and gave him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

God gives us these patterns, these foreshadowings, so that when Jesus appears we will recognise him as the Christ. Here he is, the man of sorrows, rejected, unjustly condemned, but now raised up, the saviour of the world!

God reveals his glory to us through real events and people in history. Abraham, Joseph, now Moses and the people of Israel – and supremely in Jesus of Nazareth, his son, our Lord and Christ (Messiah).
So have no fear, the Lord is in control. He is ruler of history, and all things are moving towards one goal: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. Eph 1:10

Genesis 21 God, the promise-keeper

Genesis 21

My wedding day was awesome. The loveliest, most godly, most adorable, most beautiful woman in the world walked down the aisle towards me. I took her hands in mine, gazed into her eyes – and made the most outrageous promises to her. Wedding vows are serious business! These are covenants, promises: I will be faithful to you no matter what. I will love you whether I feel like it or not. Through good times and bad, when you love me and when you hurt me, I will love you and stick by you. We are one, and only death can separate us.

That’s the kind of promise God has made to Abraham, to the people of Israel, and indeed to us. I will stick by you, no matter what. And because God is God, he really means it, and has the ability to see it through. No matter what the cost.
Easter is the celebration of His love – a love so vast, so huge, so unquenchable, that God goes to the cross to rescue those he has chosen to love. That’s us. Wow. The Wedding Feast will be amazing!

As it’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve been in Genesis I’m going to spend a few minutes reminding ourselves of the context of chapter 21: what is the journey we’ve been on with Abraham these last few months. And thinking about where we’ve come from in chapter 12, what struck me the most, what surprised me, is the subversive nature of Genesis. Subversive means: how it turns things on its head –it does what we don’t expect. We expect a story about a righteous man, a good man who impresses God, and as he grows in righteousness God blesses him more and more.
What we get is a sinful man who receives ALL of God’s blessings immediately, and then immediately proves he is a sinful man by lying, by not believing God’s promise, and creating a whole lot of trouble for the country he lives in (Egypt, back in chapter 12). But God blesses him. In the next chapter (13) he then tries to give away the land God promised him. But God blesses him, keeping His promise. Abraham then commits adultery with his wife’s servant girl, Hagar, and then he and his wife abuse her so badly she runs away to die. But God blesses him, reaffirms his covenant, and promises him a child.
The story is subversive. We keep thinking that we can earn salvation. We keep thinking that Abraham was a good man, and so God liked him. And Genesis keeps turning our expectations on their head. We cannot earn salvation. Abraham was a sinner, just like us. And God still loved him. God keeps his promises, even when we do not.

Genesis is an uncomfortable book to read (and to preach!) because it keeps messing up our neat theology (our wrong theology!). As I said a couple of weeks ago, when we looked at chapter 20, Abraham is annoying. He’s received all the promises of God, has met personally with God, has even played the role of Jesus, pleading with the Father for mercy on the city of Sodom – and then he goes right back to the same behaviour of chapter 12. Lying, prejudice, selfishness. Disappointing. Annoying Abraham.

But God is even more annoying, I said. Because instead of Abraham getting punished, getting what he deserves – he gets rewarded with sheep and goats and servants and money. It’s unfair!

And that’s the gospel.

The gospel is unfair. It’s by grace we are saved. It is unearned. And we stay Christian only by grace. It is unearned. It is God who is the hero, who is the promise-keeper. We are saved by GOD’s action, by GOD’s grace, by GOD’s decision, by HIS will, not ours. And we remain Christians, we remain blessed, because our standing before God is not based on OUR actions but on His.

This thread of the gospel runs the whole way through the story of Abraham. And next week we’ll look at a huge signpost pointing the way to the son of God giving his life as a sacrifice for sin as Abraham is asked to sacrifice his son as an offering to God. But this week? Well this week we see that God keeps his promises, even to sinful people. God’s word is dependable. We’ve seen that when he says he will judge, he will judge. Sodom found that out. We’ve seen that when he says he will rescue he will rescue: Lot found that out. And we’ve seen that when he says he will bless he will bless: Abraham found that out, Abraham will experience it again in this chapter – and Hagar will find that out. God keeps his promises.

We’ll start off with verses 1-7 the promise to Abraham fulfilled. Then verses 8-21 the promise to Hagar fulfilled. And finally v22-34 the promise of the land will be fulfilled.

1. Promise to Abraham fulfilled v1-7

The writer wants to make it clear that God is a promise-keeping God – and so reminds us three times in v1 and 2 that God keeps his promises: 1 The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised. 2 She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would.

This is a direct fulfilment of the promise made in chapter 18, just before the destruction of Sodom. Flip back to 18:10 Then one of them said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!” Sarah hears this and laughs in disbelief and so in 13 the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

Why was this promise such a big deal?
Firstly because Sarah had been barren her whole life – she had never been able to have children, even in her most fertile time of life. Secondy, because she’s now an old woman, past the age of childbirth. “Yeah, right, I’ll have a kid. Sure God. I’m a dried up old prune. Good joke at my expense.” Bitter laughter from Sarah.

But the last laugh is the Lord’s, as one year later out pops Isaac, the son of the Promise. Isaac, whose name means “he laughs”. 21:3 And Abraham named their son Isaac. 4 Eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded. 5 Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. 6 And Sarah declared, “God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me. 7 Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!”

Who would have thought? God does the impossible, and keeps his promise. Is anything too hard for the Lord? Who would have thought that Sarah could produce a child? Who would have thought that God would keep his promise to Abraham and Sarah, despite their failings and rebellion and sin? Who would have thought that God himself would come down to our world, the true son of the Promise, be born in a stable, grow up to be a man, show us the Father in his life, in his power, in his teaching, in his compassion – and then take the road to Calvary, to hang accursed on a tree, to bear our sins, to taste death so that we can have life, eternal life! What a love! What a cost!

See, the birth of Isaac is the beginning of the fulfilment of the promise made in chapter 12:1-3 which ultimately is only fulfilled in Christ “The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

Through Christ all the families on earth will be blessed. Right now, across the world, in large buildings, in underground caves, in homes, in village squares, under trees, in rich places, in poor places, in every country in the world people are meeting to praise God for rescuing them. Across the world our brothers and sisters are rejoicing that they have been saved by grace. They are celebrating that God keeps his promises, by not giving us what we deserve, but blessing us instead.

And Isaac’s birth is the first in a long line that leads to the son of God. For Jesus is a son of Abraham, a great-great-great grandson of the miracle child, Isaac.

God keeps his promises.

And to remind us that this promise is not limited to one people-group – a lesson the early church learned quite quickly in Acts 10 – the writer of Genesis quickly introduces Hagar’s story – and the promise that God keeps that he made to her. God promises are for all people. His mercy is available for all.

2. Promise to Hagar fulfilled v8-21

Hagar’s story starts off by reminding us that our “heroes” aren’t very heroic at all. Just in case we thought we could earn our salvation, you know, be good enough and then God will like us enough to let us into the Club for Very Nice People (aka the Church?). No, no, no. This is the Club for Forgiven Sinners Who Continue to Sin and Mess Up But Love and Accept Each Other Anyway Because God Does (in other words, the Real Church!).

And sometimes we really do strain our ability to forgive each other and really need the Lord to give us strength. Look at how Abraham and Sarah behave.

8 When Isaac grew up and was about to be weaned, Abraham prepared a huge feast to celebrate the occasion. 9 But Sarah saw Ishmael—the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant Hagar—making fun of her son, Isaac. 10 So she turned to Abraham and demanded, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son. He is not going to share the inheritance with my son, Isaac. I won’t have it!”

Abraham is angry because he loves his son, but gives in to his wife’s demands after a word from the Lord, and sends Hagar and Ishmael out.

Why did the Lord expel Ishmael? Two reasons are apparent in the story: the first is in v12 But God told Abraham, “Do not be upset over the boy and your servant. Do whatever Sarah tells you, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted. Isaac is the son of the Promise, not Ishmael. The second is a play on words in the Hebrew: Ishmael in v9 is seen as laughing at Isaac, “he laughs”. He’s mocking his name, mocking his status, in a sense, mocking his position as child of the Promise. And since the blessing of God is following Isaac, not Ishmael, Ishmael is mocking God. 12:3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt.

So Ishmael is sent out to the desert – normally a death sentence. But Abraham had faith in the Lord’s words in v13 But I will also make a nation of the descendants of Hagar’s son because he is your son, too. And Hagar and Ishmael soon realise that God is a promise-keeper.

Remember back in chapter 16: the Lord seeks out Hagar, finding her in the desert waiting to die after the abuse at the hands of Sarah. The Lord meets Hagar, sees her when no-one else does, hears her prayer – and says name your son “Ishmael” (God hears). I love her response back in chapter 16:13. It’s beautiful 13 Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?”

The God who sees. Our God of mercy. And again, he sees them. Out in the desert, rejected, alone, God sees them.

16 Then she went and sat down by herself about a hundred yards away. “I don’t want to watch the boy die,” she said, as she burst into tears. 17 But God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven “Hagar, what’s wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Go to him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants.”

God hears. Who did God hear? Not Hagar – but the boy. He may even have been praying, since the Hebrew simply says “God heard the voice of the boy.” (He was 14 at the time – for some reason I’ve always pictured him as a toddler, being left to die – but he was a young teenager, fully understanding what was going on.)

But the focus is not on him, is it? The focus is on God fulfilling the promise he gave Hagar back in chapter 16. Her son, Ishmael, “God hears”, just as Isaac brings laughter “he laughs”. At the time when all hope was lost, God heard their cry, and 19 God opened Hagar’s eyes, and she saw a well full of water. She quickly filled her water container and gave the boy a drink.

And I cannot help but be reminded of Rom 5:6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.

Hagar’s story is our story. Cast out from the place of blessing for our mockery of God. Separated from the promise of life. Utterly helpless to save ourselves. And Christ came at the right time and died for us sinners. He is the God who hears.

He keeps his promises. Happy Easter, indeed!

3. Promise of land will be fulfilled v22-34

Now for this final point I have to admit that I was really struggling to understand why it’s here in the story until I read this in one of the commentaries I have on Genesis.

“This treaty with Abimelech marked another small but decisive step towards the fulfilment of the promises. Under the treaty Abraham secured legal rights to a well near Beersheba. For a herdsman totally dependent on guaranteed access to water for his flocks this was a most important provision. This was the first foothold that Abraham secured in the land of Canaan. As a mark of his thankfulness to God Abraham planted a tamarisk tree and worshipped (33).”

It’s another indication that God keeps his promises – and the theme of this chapter, indeed, one of the major themes of Genesis and the Bible as a whole – clicked into place. As Abimelech says in v22 “God is obviously with you, helping you in everything you do,”.

God keeps his promises. God is with Abraham, as he is with us. We live in the realm of blessing. But, the best is yet to come.

For, like Abraham, we live with not all of God’s promises fulfilled. This chapter reminds us, repeatedly, that Abraham is living amongst the Philistines. He has a well at Beersheba, but that’s all. Even Isaac, the son of the Promise, is born amongst the Philistines, outside of the Promised Land. Again, our expectations are subverted: Abraham lives most of his days in exile.
Heb 11:8–10 puts it like this It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. 10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.

How do we live in this world as aliens and strangers? How do we live waiting for the heavenly city? By faith. Like our father Abraham. And his story gives us strength as we see how God cares for those waiting to enter the Promise Land, the New Creation, with Christ Jesus coming with the clouds in power, the sword of his mouth judging all people, and the earth being remade. As we wait for our life who is Christ to be revealed – have faith. Trust God. He knows how to keep his promises.

v22 “God is obviously with you, helping you in everything you do,”. God kept his promise to Abraham of his son, Isaac. God kept his promise to Hagar and to Ishmael, to hear and to rescue. God keeps his promises, to be with his people of grace, to bless and not condemn. He is with us.

Mt 28:18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

God keeps his promises.