The last time we saw Moses by the Nile was when he was drawn out of the water and handed to the Pharaoh’s daughter. Her actions changed his life as she saved the deliverer whom God had raised up. Now Moses is back at the Nile and what he will do, by God’s power, will change the Pharaoh’s life and family. God is about to show His sovereign control over every one of the Egyptian gods and over everything that is important to the people of Egypt. 

Moses carried his staff, the symbol of God’s presence, and he said what God had told him to say to Pharoah: “So far you have not obeyed. Thus says the Lord, ‘By this you shall know that I am the Lord.” He told Pharaoh he would strike the Nile with his staff and the river would turn to blood. The fish will die, the Nile will stink, and the people of Egypt will not want to drink it. Often in the Bible God tells his people or his enemies what He is going to do, what sign or wonder they can expect. The signs and wonders are given to confirm His Word, to demonstrate His sovereignty and might and His worthiness to be obeyed and to be believed. We see it in the 10 plagues here. We see it also in the seven signs Jesus performed in the Gospel of John. For example, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” and healed a man born blind. He fed the five thousand with 5 loaves and two fish and said, “I am the bread of life.” He said, “I am the resurrection and the life,” and raised Lazarus from the dead.

 Aaron struck the Nile with the staff of God, and that river and every source of water in the land turned to blood, just as God had spoken. Even the water that was sitting in pots or buckets in people’s houses was turned to blood. They couldn’t drink it, wash with it, or bathe with it. The whole land stunk of dead fish and blood. God struck a blow against man’s worship of the creation rather than the Creator while also taking away easy access to something they took for granted they would always have. So-called self-sufficiency? Upended.

 The first plague points us to the tenth plague, when the blood of all the firstborn will be shed because of the disobedience of the Pharaoh and his people. We also see a horrific parallel in the third bowl of God’s wrath in the book of Revelations where the first plague in Egypt is magnified to universal proportions. “The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, “Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!” And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!” 

The blood of judgment in Egypt was poured out on a nation that had spilled the blood of God’s people for 400 years in their enslavement. And how did the Pharaoh respond? Not a word. He walked into his house, and Moses writes, “he did not even take this to heart.” What a contrast. Moses and Aaron obeyed God, confronted the Pharaoh because of their love for God and their desire to see their people set free to go and serve God. The Pharaoh saw the devastation brought to his people who then had to dig wells to survive for 7 days, and he showed no concern, no remorse, nothing at all. 

It is the dividing line in Scripture, isn’t it? We hear the truth of God’s word and we say yes and respond with obedience and walk in faithfulness no matter the cost. Or we hear the truth and ignore His Word and the warnings of more and worse judgment, and we go our own way and live the way that pleases us. But as RC Sproul said, “Sin is cosmic treason.” We can only go our own way until that Day. 

The Day every person without Christ will stand before God. They will have nothing to say then, as well.

Moses interrupts his narrative in Exodus 6 for a genealogy. And if you read through it, you might think, this is not very interesting reading. Or you may think, who in his right mind would name his son “Mushi?” But remember Paul’s instruction, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” That includes the genealogies, and there are a lot of them in the Bible. This genealogy is intended to contribute to making us complete and equipping us for every good work. 

It starts with, “These are the heads of their fathers’ houses.” The genealogy is organized by families, by father’s houses. Families in the Old and New Testament were usually an extended family living in close proximity with one another and united by their shared blood and a father who was looked to for spiritual authority. A godly family is a means of grace, through whom God extends his blessing. If you are part of a godly family, that is reason for great praise to God. But God also rescues many from ungodly families and adopts them into His family. Tony Merida tells the story of a baby named Benjamin who was thrown into a toilet in a slum in Kenya. I have seen those toilets in Nairobi’s Kibera slum. They are rickety outhouses where you do what you need to do over a hole in the ground. Baby Benjamin was dropped 18-feet into one of those holes, landing in an unspeakable mess. A passerby heard him cry and spent hours digging through the filth to rescue him from death. Benjamin was taken to a ministry in Nairobi where he ended up in the home of Dennis and Allison Omondi, who were unable to have children. That’s a physical picture of the spiritual condition every one of us was in before God rescued us from the filth of sin and adopted us into His family.

 Notice that the genealogy in Exodus 6 starts with the first three sons of Jacob, who were Reuben, Simeon, and Levi. And that’s as far as it goes, because Moses’ intent seems to be to give us more information on Levi. That was the family God chose for ministerial duties in Israel. Levi was the priestly tribe and his descendants ministered in the tabernacle and later in the temple. We are told that Levi lived to be 133 years old and had three sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. In his fourth book, Moses gave us more information about these three sons of Levi and what they were responsible for. Gershon and his family were responsible for guarding everything on the west side of the tabernacle and when they broke camp, they carried the screens and coverings that would have to be set up again where they settled next. Kohath and his family guarded the south side of the tabernacle and were responsible for the furniture: the ark, table, lampstand, and more. Merari and his family guarded the north side camped and were responsible for the structural elements: the frames, bars, poles, pillars, and more. If you’re concerned about the eastern side, the front entrance to the tabernacle, Moses and Aaron and their families were camped there. It was a division of labor much like we have today in healthy churches. Antioch. Elders and deacons and many others who serve the church in various ways help make the church flourish, by God’s grace. 

If you read the genealogy on Exodus 6, you will notice two cautionary tales (don’t follow their example) and one worth imitating. Nadab and Abihu sought glory for themselves rather than God and were consumed. Korah was jealous of others’ authority and was swallowed up, literally, along with 250 others who followed him in his rebellion. The zeal of Phinehas was praised by God as he intervened for the name of the Lord and His holiness. 

We can learn a lot from these men of Levi. 

When the Israeli foreman heard that their people had to now find their own straw to make bricks because of Moses and Aaron, they were fit to be tied. In a confrontation with their spiritual leaders they said they hoped the Lord would judge Moses and Aaron for making their lives miserable. What is Moses to do, now?  We find out quickly as the deliverer of Israel, confused if not downright angry, confronts the Lord. Life is hard, we all know that, and we can learn what to do and what not to do by considering Moses’ reaction. 

“Then Moses turned to the Lord.” Ok, that’s a good start. Moses had just been rebuked by the foremen, but instead of blasting the foremen, he turned to the Lord. Good job, Mo. I admit that when someone is critical with me, my first response is too often to defend myself rather than accept the correction with grace. Moses did not do that but notice what he did: he questioned the great I Am, he complained to him, he even accused him. These appear with words he spoke to God which include, “Why have you, why did you, you have not!” 

His first question for God was, “Why have you done evil to this people?” We know the Lord God cannot do evil. But the same word used here is used in Numbers when Moses said to God, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant?” I don’t think Moses is questioning God’s righteousness, but he is asking that age-old trope, “Why are you allowing bad things to happen to good people?”  The second question is a complaint: “Why did you ever send me?” Moses seems to be making this about himself and questioning God’s wisdom at the same time! I told you I wasn’t the right person to do this and I told you they wouldn’t listen, so… why did you send me in the first place?

The third thing that came out of Moses’ mouth was an accusation: “You have not delivered your people at all.” Moses heard God’s promises and now he is questioning God’s credibility, because God has not followed through and delivered on Moses’ timetable. Wow. I am tempted to ask, “How is Moses not a greasy spot before all those words even finished falling out of his mouth?” Simply this: God is not afraid of our questions. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” 

I also think we see Moses here becoming like that grain of wheat Jesus talked about, falling into the ground to die, so that he could bear much fruit. Moses had to die to himself, his pride, his thinking that he knew best and that this deliverance ministry God gave him should be easier. But no. Life is hard. We all understand that.

Do you have questions? Turn to the Lord. Ask him questions. Search the Scriptures. Life is hard. But there is hope in the Lord, in his word, and in those who know him. Ask people who have walked with the Lord longer than you have who have evidence of good fruit in their lives. Moses didn’t have anybody on the planet like that. But you and I do.

When it comes to our relationship with the Creator of the universe, there really are no dumb questions. Just plenty of dumb and deadly assumptions.

When Moses and Aaron first walked into the palace to confront Pharaoh, they knew they were meeting with a man who thought he was a god. Truth be told, he did have unimpeachable authority to have them drawn and quartered on the spot, without question. But these men confronted him anyway. They were ordinary men upon whom the grace of God was abundantly poured out for such a time as this. Notice how Pharaoh responded.

He said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?” That’s a question for the ages! A question every single one of us, every person who has ever lived has had to answer. Or will eventually answer with the truth. Who is the Lord? Why should I obey Him? The Pharaoh had the wrong heart but he asked the right question. And every single person on the last day, the day of judgment, will either enter into heaven because he or she has bowed the knee by faith to Christ and obeyed His voice, or will enter into eternal damnation after he or she has bowed the knee to Christ. The Bible says, “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

The Pharaoh then says, “I do not know the Lord…and I will not let Israel go.” It is an honest answer. At least the Pharaoh knows what he doesn’t believe. How many people know that? The hardest people to reach with the Gospel are the people who think they believe in Christ but really do not. They are cultural Christians who know about Jesus and may even go to church, but they do not know Him. Their lives do not bear the marks of repentance and faith and obedience to Christ.

Moses and Aaron persisted and told Pharaoh they spoke for the Lord, the God of the Hebrews. They asked him again to let the people go worship God, and added, “lest he fall upon us with pestilence or the sword.” This first warning was given to the Pharaoh to let him know there would be consequences for his disobedience. Again, the courage and confidence of Moses and Aaron to confront Pharaoh is critical here, and it comes from their relationship with God. Moses was just a man, but a man who had been with God, had heard His voice and seen His power, and now was ready to do God’s will. It was the same with the Jesus’ disciples.

They were ordinary men and we can easily catalogue their selfishness and sinfulness and betrayal in the Gospels. But these same men, filled with the Holy Spirit, would stand before rulers and leaders of Israel and astonish them with their boldness. “They were uneducated, common men…(but the rulers of Israel) recognized that they had been with Jesus.” You and I, too, have been with Jesus. Though we have not seen Him, we know Him and we are in Christ, and He is in us. When Spurgeon preached on the life of Moses, he had this to say to his listeners: “Do you still stutter? Are you still slow of speech? Nevertheless, go on. Have you been rebuked and rebuffed? Have you had little else than defeat? This is the way of success.… Toil on and believe on. Be steadfast in your confidence, for with a high hand and an outstretched arm the Lord will fetch out his own elect, and he will fetch some of them out by you.”

Ordinary men and women who know and are known by our extraordinary God: that is who we are. Go, speak in His name and with His authority!

“It is time to go.” How many times do we use that phrase in our daily lives? “It is time to go on vacation” makes us happy. “It is time to go home from vacation” is a mixed bag. Some are deeply saddened by that, but some are overjoyed that they can go home and rest. How about, “It is time to go to work?” Or, as I heard last week from a young couple, “It is time to go to the altar and get married.” I One of my favorites is, “It is time to go to church.” I love that one. As the Psalmist said, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’” 

It came time one day for Moses to go. Back to the land of the pyramids and the Pharaoh. Back to the slave drivers and the people they are oppressing. Back to Egypt. God had work for him there. 

God’s call on his life took precedence over everything else for Moses, as it does for you and me. Jesus made that clear to us when he said in essence that anyone who loves his father or mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters more than he loves Jesus is not worthy to be his disciple. Moses was commissioned by God to go; that meant he could not stay in Midian. But…it was important for him to leave in the right way. The first thing Moses did was speak to Jethro with great respect. He asked him for permission to leave, and he did so because this was his father-in-law and his employer. Moses told him he needed to go back to see his brothers. He may have looked like an Egyptian when he first arrived in Midian, but Moses clearly understood who he was and who his people were. Jethro spoke a blessing over Moses, telling him to go in peace. 

Moses packed his bags and took his family and the staff of God with him on the journey, which represented God’s presence and divine authority. This is a wonderful reminder that we who are in Christ travel through life as a family. Even if you are a spiritual orphan as far as blood relatives go, you are part of a universal family of brothers and sisters in Christ. And more importantly, you are part of a spiritual family in a local church, or should be, where you know your family members and are known by them, and you are known by your heavenly Father and his Son. You are not alone. 

Moses was not alone, either. He went to meet with his brother, Aaron, for the two of them were being sent to the Pharaoh. We serve a sending God! They met at the mountain of God, a long way from Egypt. One of the questions I had was, “How did Aaron get out of Egypt?” I mean, he didn’t have any vacation days as a slave. The answer is simply, God made it happen. 

Moses was 80 and Aaron was 83 so here they are, two octogenarians, but still in their prime. Let it be so for me, Lord! And look at this: they kiss. Their brotherly affection was restored after 77 years of absence from one another. Moses didn’t add this because it was embarrassing but I’m pretty sure that after Aaron kissed his younger brother, he put him in a headlock and gave him a noogie. Because that’s what big brothers do! This moment of affection and brotherly love was deeply needed, because these two were headed into the hornet’s nest. Only by the grace of God would they, or we, be able to do what is required.

Let’s go!