Oppressed

Message Title: Oppressed
Theme: Made to Be
Season: Ordinary Time
Main Text: Exodus 1:8-2:10
Scripture Reading: Matthew 16:13-20
RCL Scripture: Exodus 1:8-2:10; Psalm 124; Isaiah 51:1-6; Psalm 138; Romans 12:1-8; Matthew 16:13-20
Focus: Jacob’s family is enslaved in Egypt but God has a plan for their deliverance.
Function: To identify ourselves as God’s people OVER any political party, nationality, or other group desiring division.
Other Notes: END OF SERIES // Mission report Gary & Diana

SCRIPTURE READING: Matthew 16:13-20 ¹³ Now when Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Human One^[a] is?” ¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” ¹⁵ He said, “And what about you? Who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ Then Jesus replied, “Happy are you, Simon son of Jonah, because no human has shown this to you. Rather my Father who is in heaven has shown you. ¹⁸ I tell you that you are Peter.^[b] And I’ll build my church on this rock. The gates of the underworld won’t be able to stand against it. ¹⁹ I’ll give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Anything you fasten on earth will be fastened in heaven. Anything you loosen on earth will be loosened in heaven.” ²⁰ Then he ordered the disciples not to tell anybody that he was the Christ.

SERIES CONCLUSION: We have been through a journey this summer! Since June we have been studying Genesis in our Made to Be series. This series has encouraged us to consider a new perspective on the Genesis account. This book is more than a history lesson, this book speaks of the identity of God’s people. Today, we get our final installment in the Made to Be series. Investigating identity is in your hands.

INTRODUCTION:

1. AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT: What trends were popular when you were young that have been repeated by younger generations?
   1. My generation embraced the bell bottoms and peasant tops of the 60’s and 70’s.
   1. Fashion has a way of repeating itself… though I’ll never understand why bucket hats and crocs came back.
2. AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT: What trends do you wish could: 1- stop coming back or 2- come back that are always ignored?

TRANSITION: The passing of time is revealed through the wrinkles on our skin, the gray hairs (or falling out) on our head, and younger generations revisiting changing traditions.

In our text today, much time has passed. Rather than fashion tends changing, the relationship between Jacob’s people and the leadership of Egypt has changed. How is their story our story?

MAIN TEXT: Exodus 1:8-2:10 ⁸ Now a new king came to power in Egypt who didn’t know Joseph. ⁹ He said to his people, “The Israelite people are now larger in number and stronger than we are. ¹⁰ Come on, let’s be smart and deal with them. Otherwise, they will only grow in number. And if war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and then escape from the land.” ¹¹ As a result, the Egyptians put foremen of forced work gangs over the Israelites to harass them with hard work. They had to build storage cities named Pithom and Rameses for Pharaoh. ¹² But the more they were oppressed, the more they grew and spread, so much so that the Egyptians started to look at the Israelites with disgust and dread. ¹³ So the Egyptians enslaved the Israelites. ¹⁴ They made their lives miserable with hard labor, making mortar and bricks, doing field work, and by forcing them to do all kinds of other cruel work. ¹⁵ The king of Egypt spoke to two Hebrew midwives named Shiphrah and Puah: ¹⁶ “When you are helping the Hebrew women give birth and you see the baby being born, if it’s a boy, kill him. But if it’s a girl, you can let her live.” ¹⁷ Now the two midwives respected God so they didn’t obey the Egyptian king’s order. Instead, they let the baby boys live. ¹⁸ So the king of Egypt called the two midwives and said to them, “Why are you doing this? Why are you letting the baby boys live?” ¹⁹ The two midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because Hebrew women aren’t like Egyptian women. They’re much stronger and give birth before any midwives can get to them.” ²⁰ So God treated the midwives well, and the people kept on multiplying and became very strong. ²¹ And because the midwives respected God, God gave them households of their own. ²² Then Pharaoh gave an order to all his people: “Throw every baby boy born to the Hebrews into the Nile River, but you can let all the girls live.” Now a man from Levi’s household married a Levite woman. ² The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that the baby was healthy and beautiful, so she hid him for three months. ³ When she couldn’t hide him any longer, she took a reed basket and sealed it up with black tar. She put the child in the basket and set the basket among the reeds at the riverbank. ⁴ The baby’s older sister stood watch nearby to see what would happen to him. ⁵ Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, while her women servants walked along beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds, and she sent one of her servants to bring it to her. ⁶ When she opened it, she saw the child. The boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him. She said, “This must be one of the Hebrews’ children.” ⁷ Then the baby’s sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Would you like me to go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” ⁸ Pharaoh’s daughter agreed, “Yes, do that.” So, the girl went and called the child’s mother. ⁹ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I’ll pay you for your work.” So, the woman took the child and nursed it. ¹⁰ After the child had grown up, she brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her son. She named him Moses, “because,” she said, “I pulled him out^[a] of the water.”

EXPLAINATION:

1. DreamWorks Prince of Egypt
2. Context:
   1. Last week Jacob’s family all moved to Egypt to escape a famine in the land.
3. Our text for today says so much time has passed that the current ruler has no memory of Joseph.
   1. Jacob’s family are now called The Israelites or Hebrews and they are numerous.
   1. Pharoah is worried about the large number of Israelites and makes a plan to subdue them to prevent their rebellion.
   1. Thus, the Israelites end up slaves in Egypt when they had originally been welcomed as esteemed guests.
4. God hears the struggles of his people and designs a plan involving a family from the tribe of Levi. Their son Moses would deliver the people. However, you’ll have to keep reading Exodus to hear the rest of the story.

INTERPRETATION: Liberate

1. The story of Israel’s enslavement in Egypt and Moses as the liberator is a familiar story in Christian spheres. However, we typically look at this story as a piece of Jewish history and not part of TORAH.
2. I want us to pause and remember: (we do not have Jewish heritage)
   1. TORAH is the Law, the structure for God’s people, the foundational identity document. Genesis & Exodus are part of TORAH, not the Nevi’im, and the Ketuvim (Prophets and Writings).
   1. The story of the Israelites through Genesis & Exodus is foundational to the identity of all God’s people and our relationship to God.

APPLICATION: To identify ourselves as God’s people OVER any political party, nationality, or other group desiring division.

1. –Meriah’s Midrash–
2. DISARM – *Stay with me here* I want to be candid with you. Be present in the moment with me.
3. Unfortunately for all of us, it’s now presidential campaign season. Ads will run. Lobbyists will lobby. Promises will be made to earn your vote.
4. KNOW YOUR FOUNDATION: It is IMPERATIVE we remember our identity foundationally belongs in Jesus.  Scripture reading -Know who Christ is
   1. Every single politician of every political party will fail us.
   1. Every government on this planet seeks its own self-interest.
   1. No nation deserves our allegiance OVER Christ.
5. KNOW YOUR HOPE: When the world is overwhelming, we remember our hope is in Jesus.
   1. Scripture reading: peter knew
   1. Regardless of who is elected. Regardless of what laws are passed. Our identity doesn’t change. Our commission as God’s ambassadors doesn’t change.  
6. HAVE NO FEAR: we may tremble in our boots on a day to day basis BUT we know that nothing on this earth can change the hope we have in Christ.
   1. Scripture reading: peter was given a task according to his knowledge.
   1. Romans 8:37-39 ³⁷ But in all these things we win a sweeping victory through the one who loved us. ³⁸ I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers ³⁹ or height or depth, or any other thing that is created.
      1. Not republicans, not democrats, not presidents, not mayors, not dictators, lobbyists, or billionaires
7. Wrape up series

CONCLUSION: When you know your foundation, you know your hope and can have no fear. Survive the darkness by clinging to the Light of Christ.