Putting Egypt Behind You
This is the third week of our series “The Journey Begins” from the book of Exodus. Last week Moses and the people of Israel were right on the verge of a huge journey. They were about to make it out of Egypt after 400 years of slavery. Across the Red Sea and toward the promised land, the freedom God promised them was just a few steps away…But freedom is a complex and interesting state with lots of variables. The people of Israel were set free but they discovered being set free and staying free are two different things.
I can’t help but wonder that if the crossing of the Red Sea took place today would they have made it—everyone would have wanted to stop and take a selfie with the sea standing up behind them. That would have taken a long time and the Egyptians might have caught up with them. I don’t know.
But they did make it across. They were set free.
And having been set free, they discovered being set free and staying free really are two different things.
Think back to what had happened
After the Pharaoh finally let the people go and they were making their way out of Egypt. His accountants came into his throne room and said to him, “look, we’ve done a cost analysis on all this and if we lose all this good free Israelite labor we are going to go under and you are not going to be able to be buried in a big fancy pyramid like your father.”
So, the Pharaoh says, “we’ve obviously made a terrible mistake. Let’s go get ‘em and bring ‘em back.
He took 600 of his best chariots, which was sort of the Apache helicopter of that day, along with horsemen and foot soldiers and overtook the Israelites down by the Red Sea
And when they overtook them, they all turned on Moses.
Again – to paraphrase – they said:
“You chucklehead! Was it because there were not enough graves in Egypt that you brought us out here to die in the desert? Thanks a lot, Buddy.” (and no doubt Moses was thinking, Lord, that is why I told you I wanted to stay out in Midian. This is just too much)
But the Lord said, “you just do what I tell you,” --which is always a good thing to do. Do what the Lord tells you – you can’t go wrong.
The Lord said, “stretch out your hand over the sea”
As he did, the sea parted and the people passed over and the Egyptians drowned.
So, they were out of Egypt, but they still weren’t free.
Just three days into the journey. They get thirsty (which I imagine could happen out in the middle of the Egyptian desert). They either ran out of water or they didn’t bring enough, Yeti hadn’t been invented yet, and they were in trouble.
They start complaining again. Let’s take a look at Chapter 15:22-25. They run out of water. Tragedy averted. Problem solved.
So far, so good…..but then, it doesn’t take long after that before they get hungry. They get hungry faster than you can say, “where is the Captain D’s?”
They start complaining and whining all over again.
Do you see a pattern developing?
They are set free from the Egyptians but they are not set from a spirit of whining and complaining.
So let’s take a look at our text from Exodus 16 again.
16:1-11
So, they are able to leave Egypt, the Pharaoh catches up with them. They don’t like that so they complain. The Lord saves them. Then they get thirsty. They don’t like that, who does? The Lord give them sweet water. Then they get hungry and complain and the Lord sends them food.
There is a pattern that has developed.
If you think that is the last time the people complained on their way to the promised land, you’re probably not very familiar with this story. It took them 40 years to go to make a trip that could have taken 3 or 4 days.
The name of this series is “The Journey Begins.” We are on a journey. We are on a journey with God. We are on a journey with one another. No, we are not fleeing slavery from Egypt, but as we journey with God there are some things we are going to want to leave behind just like there were things the Israelites would have wanted to leave behind when they left Egypt.
I want us to focus on two in particular in this sermon; whining and complaining.
You might be thinking, “Pastor, you are going to devote a whole sermon to whining and complaining? That doesn’t sound like that big of a deal. But, let’s stop and think about that. Whining and complaining kept Israel from the promised land for 40 years when they were just a few steps away. 40 years of living in the desert instead of the promised land. It is kind of a big deal.
And while we have been set free from sin, and despair and death and the devil through what Christ has done for us on the cross, being set free and staying free are two different things.
We can choose to whine and complain rather than live the life Christ has for us.
That is not to say that there isn’t room for constructive criticism. We should be able to identify how things can be better. That is a good thing. But we do need to guard against throwing the baby out with the bath water.
I recently found a formula that I want to suggest that we follow when we do have suggestions about how things can be better.
It is pretty cool, and the neat thing about it, is you can use it at church, at home, at school, at work, any number of places.
It’s called 1-3-1.
Here is how it works. When anyone has complaints; you take them one at a time. That is the first “1.” Then you identify 3 solutions. Then you identify one step the person who has raised the complaint and identified the problem will take in helping solve the problem 1-3-1. We have a staff meeting coming up and we are going to be referring to that formula.
You might be thinking, I’m not really intro formulas. I’m not either, always. So I have another suggestion from the great Jewish theologian Abraham Joshua Hershel:
He says:
Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement …Get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. (Especially all that Jesus has done for us on the cross) Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed
We are on an adventure and it is incredible. Let the journey begin.