Learning to Trust God
Exodus • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 4 viewsAfter God delivered Israel from the pursuit of Pharaoh by parting the Red Sea and destroying the Egyptian army, the Israelites begin their journey through the wilderness. The 40 years spent in the wilderness was not a waste- God was teaching Israel. In this passage, we see God teaching the Israelites to trust Him - in discouragement, in duress, in deference, and in doubt.
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INTRO: Do you trust God?
Undoubtedly you are nodding, “Yes, of course!” Perhaps you can think back to when you first realized who God is- when you first understood your desperate need for salvation and redemption. Last week, during our SS hour, we got to hear some testimonies from folks about their experience trusting God in their sickness and in areas of opportunity.
But it’s not always easy to trust, is it? I mean, trust is fine when everything is going well, but what about those times when you are just not sure?
Today, we are headed back to our study in Exodus where we find Moses and the Israelites entering a season of learning. Now, it’s been a while since we looked at this, so let me set the stage for where we are in the narrative:
Moses was born a slave in a time when the Pharaoh of Egypt commanded all male babies born were to be drowned.
Moses was rescued and adopted by the Pharaoh’s own daughter. She raised him as an Egyptian prince- a potential successor to the throne!
But Moses recognized the horrible abuses of the Israelite people and eventually confronted and killed an Egyptian slave master before fleeing Egypt for 40 years.
In that time, Moses married and had kids of his own. He worked as a shepherd until God called to him through a burning bush to return to Egypt and demand the release of God’s people.
Moses’ brother Aaron was raised up to assist him and together they approached the Pharaoh and commanded in the name of the Lord to “Let my people go!”
Moses pronounced God’s judgment upon Egypt through plagues because of the Pharaoh’s hard heart and refusal to release the people.
After the final plague, the Israelites were released only to have Pharoah and his army pursue them.
But as they reached the Red Sea, God parted the waters and allowed Israel to cross on dry ground, and brought the waters over the Egyptian army, killing them.
Now, they were to begin their journey to the land that God had promised them.
Now, you’d think that all that they had seen would result in a great deal of trust in this God, right? Well, let’s just say that they were not done learning to trust God yet. But lest we find ourselves criticizing their lack of faith, let us be reminded that we too are a fickle people.
In fact, I believe that if we are honest, we trust, but we need help trusting -Much like the father of the young boy possessed and tormented by a demon in Mark 9 - Here he appeals to Jesus , (Mark 9:22–24) “22 “It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” 23 And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.””
So, if you have a bulletin, please take it out and follow along in the sermon guide. The message is titled, “Learning to Trust God.” I want to invite you to learn to trust God in 4 specific circumstances that challenge our trust.
Let us open God’s Word together. Now, we are not going to read the whole section here at the beginning. Instead, since it’s a large section of Scripture, we will read sections as we go.
So for today, remain seated and open your bibles to Exodus 15. We’ll begin in verse 22. Let me pray for us as we begin: [PRAY]
The previous section is a song of celebration after crossing the Red Sea and seeing God’s salvation from the pursuing Egyptian army. And as is so the case in our lives, following a major spiritual and physical victory, the Israelites had to learn about:
Trusting in Discouragement (22-27)
Trusting in Discouragement (22-27)
READ Ex. 15:22-27
22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.
23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah.
24 So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”
25 Then he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet. There He made for them a statute and regulation, and there He tested them.
26 And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the Lord, am your healer.”
27 Then they came to Elim where there were twelve springs of water and seventy date palms, and they camped there beside the waters.
Directly after this amazing deliverance of God, the Israelites set out into the wilderness.. after all, they were on a journey to the land God promised them. And after about 3 days, as you might imagine, they were getting real thirsty. When they arrive at Marah, there is water! (YAY) But the water is bitter. It causes sickness, maybe even death. Talk about discouraging.
This is like being lost at sea- all that water, but you can’t drink it!
And here we have a whole group of people who are grumbling. “Look Moses, you brought us out here, you want us to follow you, but this water is undrinkable! What are you going to do about it?”
And don’t think that Moses wasn’t discouraged a bit too. He’s just doing what God told him. He was celebrated at the Red Sea, but now people are all talking bad about him. Probably accusing him of having fresh water for himself and holding out… who knows?
But look at what Moses did: (READ v. 25)
God tells him to throw a tree in the water… All Moses had to do was to trust God. But look here, you know that Moses had to be thinking… “Really? throw a tree in the water?” Now, we can theorize about what kind of tree that must’ve been, but I want to tell you that it’s not about the tree, it’s about the God who turns bitter water sweet!!
On that day, amidst the discouragement of the Israelites, God took their discouragement and turned it into victory. All Moses had to do was trust God.
And as we look down in the next couple verses we see that God took this opportunity to teach them. (READ 25b-26)
Give earnest heed… listen to my voice. Follow my directions, and you’ll be ok. Don’t hang your head in defeat or discouragement. Trust me, I am your Healer.
I am reminded of how often, even as we intellectually know that God is trustworthy, we too get discouraged by the woes of this life.
Things aren’t going like you planned - maybe you just learned that you owe another $5k in taxes. So much for that vacation.
Maybe someone who you thought was a good friend has betrayed you or wounded you somehow. You don’t feel like you can trust anyone.
Perhaps you are trying your dead level best to follow Jesus, and you just keep missing the mark.
Look here folks: God has a way of taking the bitter waters of discouragement and turning them sweet through His grace. Amen!
All you have to do is trust Him. Like the Israelites, this is something we must learn to do. Little by little. We can trust God in our Discouragement. For Israel, their journey continued. From Marah to Elim, where they ate from date trees and drank fresh water from the springs.
But then they were back on the trail and back in the wilderness where they would need to learn to trust God in another area. In the first 21 verses of chapter 16, Israel is taught about:
Trusting in Duress (16:1-21)
Trusting in Duress (16:1-21)
What we see in this section of scripture is that Israel ran into another problem. They were hungry. Now, hunger for them is not like for us… we get hungry for missing a meal, these folks were slaves in Egypt. You know they didn’t eat 3 meals a day, so when they grumble about being hungry and long for the abundant bread and meat they had while they were slaves, well you know things must not being going so well.
Actually, their complaint was more than, “I’m hungry”. Let’s read it together: (READ v. 3) Ex. 16:3
3 The sons of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
IOW, “We would be better off having died under the plagues that God brought on Egypt that to starve to death in the wilderness!” This is a desperate situation and the question that Israel had to answer was, “Do I trust God when I don’t see the answer?” “Do I trust this God of deliverance when we are talking real, tangible provision?”
Their duress was a learning opportunity. (READ v. 4-5)
Ex. 16:4-5
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.
5 “On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”
When provision came, would the people trust God enough not to try and hoard it like the great toilet paper fiasco of 2020 Covid? Well, some didn’t listen and the food spoiled.
Nevertheless, God heard their grumblings. And He compassionately and intentionally provided for them and taught them that at the moment of their desperation, God showed them they could depend on Him.
As we consider this lesson, I want to pose a similar question. When you move out of the realm of ‘trusting God for salvation’ which is kind of hard to lay your hands on, Do you trust God when your physical life depends on it? Do you trust Him beyond the ‘one day in heaven’ thoughts?
You see, God always gives exactly what we need. He led Israel into the wilderness, and provided for them there.
If He leads you into the ministry or onto the mission field, He will provide for you there.
If He leads this church to a new ministry, He will provide our needs. If He leads
If He leads you through the valley of the shadow of death, you can trust that the God of all creation is there to provide you with peace and perspective- refreshing your soul and making you whole.
Maybe you are grieving, maybe you are suffering, maybe you are losing your ever-loving mind…
In times of duress and turmoil- when you are stressed to the max, God hears your cries! Do you trust Him?
Trusting in Deference (22-36)
Trusting in Deference (22-36)
God gave Israel a day of rest and worship. A day that would be different than all the rest. At this point, they were not sure what to do with that. They had been slaves and knew no such thing as a weekend or a day off.
Let’s read v. 22-26 (READ) Ex. 16:22-26
22 Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses,
23 then he said to them, “This is what the Lord meant: Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.”
24 So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and it did not become foul nor was there any worm in it.
25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field.
26 “Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, there will be none.”
So you can imagine that this concept of intentionally not working and instead devoting yourself to the Lord was an abrupt change. They had yet to receive instructions on how to worship… so they probably thought, “I’m not so good at worship.” Maybe they sat and looked at one another, waiting for someone to take the lead.
And then there were some who got up and went out to gather manna like every other day, and there was none to be found. Now, maybe they were being greedy or maybe they were skeptical because they tried saving food before and it spoiled. Either way, they really struggled to trust God in this.
God’s response? Look at v. 28 (READ)
28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions?
And this is why I used the word ‘deference.’ As God’s people, the Israelites needed to let go of their desire to do things their way and trust God’s plan. This is them needing to say, “Not my will, but thine”
Now look, this might ruffle a few feathers, but I need you to hear the Word of God here. The Lord has given a command for you to rest and worship. Maybe you don’t think you’re good at it. Maybe you are skeptical. Maybe you think that your time is better spent getting ahead on work. Friend, I’m telling you that God’s way is better.
Did you know that there are studies that show we are actually much more productive when we rest regularly? Additionally, there are studies that show the people who are truly engaged in regular corporate worship are happier and more satisfied in life.
Do you defer to God?
When God tells you to give or help someone in need, do you defer to Him?
When God prompts you to share the Gospel, do you defer to Him?
When God says to live differently than the world, do you defer to Him?
IF not, why?
Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”
God knows what He’s doing. The real question is do you trust Him? Do you trust His ways? Like the Israelites, we need to learn to trust God- in discouragement, in duress, and in deference.
Finally, as he journey continues and more challenges arise, we must learn:
Trusting in Doubt (17:1-7)
Trusting in Doubt (17:1-7)
(READ 1-3) Ex. 17:1-3
1 Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink.
2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?”
3 But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
The Israelites once again were without water. This time, there were no springs, not even bitter ones. As you might imagine, the people were upset. Wouldn’t you be?
Give us water! They shouted. According to v. 4, Moses, was looking around and realizing that if these people did not get water, there would likely be a riot.
Here is where the doubt shows up.
Can God take care of me now?
Will God intervene this time?
Is God present?
Does He care?
(READ 4-7) Ex. 17:4-7
4 So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me.”
5 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.
6 “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7 He named the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us, or not?”
When doubt overwhelmed the Israelites, God reminded them that He is not bound by earthly limitations. He brought water forth from a rock when there was no sign of water anywhere.
God makes a way when there is no way. And as we look at this miracle in the wilderness, we must put our eyes forward to another wilderness- the one where John the Baptist journeyed - proclaiming the provision of the LORD that was coming!
You see, like the Israelites in Moses’ day, the first-century Israelites were thirsting for salvation. But salvation could not be found in the priests nor in the sacrifices. All of this fell short!
Salvation had to come from God. As Jesus told the woman at the well, drink of my water and you will thirst no more! And though many doubted, Jesus demonstrated the power and provision of God Almighty as He became the perfect sacrifice for you and me, and rose victorious on the 3rd day.
Even after Jesus’ resurrection, which we celebrated last week, some of Jesus disciples still had doubt. Thomas is called “doubting Thomas!” And in Matthew 28:17, just before we find the Great Commission, the text tells us “17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.”
God is trustworthy. He has proven himself time and again. He has given us ample evidence.…
Friends, let me encourage you today. Trust God. Trust Him when you are discouraged, when you are under duress; trust him in deference to His will and trust him even when you are doubting.
[PRAY]
Discuss: Why do you think the Israelites struggled to trust God, even after witnessing miracles like the parting of the Red Sea?
Discuss: What does this passage teach us about the nature of trust in times of uncertainty?
Discuss: How can we grow in our trust of God when we face seasons of spiritual “dryness” or wilderness?
