to our scripture reading for the sermon as we have started with the series on Exodus. Today we focus on Exodus chapter 1, and we read from verse 8 through 20. If this is the word of God, as we believe it is true and inherent, Let us receive it, and with that in mind, and be attentive to it. If you would, keep your Bibles also open during the service for references, but may God bless us as we hear His Word. Now there arose a new king over Egypt who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land. Therefore they set taskmaskers over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They build for Pharaoh store cities, phetum and ramses. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard service in moor and brick and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work, they ruthlessly made them work as slaves. Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shephra and the other Pua, when you served as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him. But if it is a daughter, she shall live. But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, why have you done this and let the male children live? The midwives said to Pharaoh, because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them. So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live. Beloved in our Lord Jesus Christ, 11 sons of Jacob with their families came to Egypt. because of the tremendous famine in Israel. You remember the history. Joseph, remember we said, was already there. And even though Joseph's brothers meant evil against him when they sold him to the merchants, God still used that whole situation to save a nation because God had great plans for this nation. But the time went by and that whole family passed away and then we read. Sorry, there's a mistake here with my computer. That's why I like the older methods better. Then we read, but the people of God, because what happened? After the time went by, that whole family passed away. And then we read, but the people of God multiplied and grew exceedingly strong. That's beautiful in itself. From a small family, a whole nation eventually grew forth from this family. And so there they were in Egypt, but circumstances have changed, and dramatically, eventually, for the people of God, because of this new king. And we will see the reason here in a minute. And even though this pharaoh did not know about the past, God did not forget His people in Egypt. His blessed hand was still upon them, and nothing will stop them in doing so. And that is something, that is the truth about God and His relationship with His people that you and I can hold on to even today. God protects His people. God protects His church. It doesn't matter what the circumstances are. And although it might seem to us sometimes, you know, that the numbers of the church are decreasing and the world has taken hold of the church, as I even said last week, God continues His eternal plan for His church. Sometimes the growth is not only in numbers, but also in depth, in maturity, in our faith. However, that does not mean that the church will not be challenged. That doesn't mean that the church will not be without trials and tribulation and obstacles. The evil one will always continue to attack God's people in an effort, and I say in an effort, to destroy the church and thwart God's plans. And we will see this as we walk through the pages of Exodus. The enmity between the seed of the woman and the snake that started there was actually clear already in Genesis 3.15, became sharply evident in the history of the people of God, not only here, but also later right through the Old Testament. For Egypt, right now, and that's the situation, Israel became afraid. That's why he was curious about their growth, because he saw the threat of a future army that could stand up against him. Today, even though in a different way, it's not different. The church is in a world that wants to be its own God, and that makes the children of God the world's enemies. We see this spelled out very clearly in this history. God fulfilled His promise, and Israel increased greatly, we read in verse 7. And then the struggle began. We read about this new king that arose. How long it was after Joseph, it was not known, but he did not know. This man had his own agenda, He did not know about Joseph and the great things that God has done and how God has cared for this nation by bringing Joseph into a wonderful, powerful position in Egypt. That was a dangerous thing for God's people. and soon they would experience how their circumstances have changed so badly that they don't know what has gotten to them, what happened to them. Because this king, with the plans that he had and the fear that he had for God's people, eventually brought them in a political, economical, social, and spiritual slavery. This king, in his arrogance, indeed became an agent of Satan as he opposed the living God. But you know, it is foolish when you do not know your opponent. And this king had no idea against whom he was standing up against the living God. And clearly this king was afraid, as I said, of the people of God. He called them the people of the sons of Israel. And it's actually, in a sense, wonderful how the unity of God's covenantal children is described, even by a man who knows nothing about it. They became a threat to the Egyptians. God's covenant children is in view here. He saw them as a potential threat, a political threat, as a military threat that could stand up against them, and he realized he needed to deal with this matter very quickly. So we read in verse 10 how he said, come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and in the event of war, they also join themselves to those who hate us and fight against us and depart from the land. So not only be afraid of them, but that they eventually would join with the nations around them, and eventually Egypt will not be the strong nation that they were at that point. So this thing, this king thought he was dealing with, let's make it a security issue, a security crisis. He thought he had to secure his power. He wanted to make his name great and try to exalt his name also in his nation that they would see who he is and how strong and important he is. And in striving to exalt himself, he basically put himself in this contest, a contest that you and I will see will continue for quite some time, a contest against the almighty God of Israel. And we don't need to say who's going to win the contest, right? God says, my purposes will stand. In Isaiah 46.10, my purposes will stand and I will do all that I please, even using a king who do not know anything about him, he will use him as an instrument in his hands. And then I sometimes ask myself, why do we so often become so fearful when our circumstances change, even when political changes come? God said, my purposes will stand and I will do all that I please. And in that comfort we may live of a God who is absolutely a sovereign God, who does what He pleases, and even then the people of God may rest assured that for those who love Him, He causes all things to work for the good for those who love Him. So the king said, let us deal surely with them. Definitely, that is not the words of care. This was words driven by fear. And if you turn to Psalm 105, and you go and read the great summary of the history of Israel, then we read in verse 24-25, and He caused His people to be very fruitful, that's what God has done, and made them stronger than their adversaries, and He turned their heart to Hades' people to deal craftily with His servants. Yes, the pharaoh wanted to avoid their departure. He wanted them to continue to work fully. He wanted them to not join with the enemies of Egypt. So this is how he wanted to accomplish this goal. Let's look at that. He wanted to make sure that Israel stay under his control. And the way that he did that was to make rules to enslave them. And notice the words that are used in these verses. He talks about burdens, and hard labor, and afflictions, and rigorous labor. Verse 11, taskmasters were appointed over them to afflict them with hard labor. And the reason was to break them down. to let them work till there's no strength in them anymore, that they would not be able even to fight a war. What Austrel says, to restrain their growth. Perhaps the king thought the harder they worked, the weaker they would become, and the earlier they would die. Whatever that means. He just had to break them down that they won't prosper and increase and even not be strong enough to stand up against him. But see what happened. Just the opposite of what the king planned to accomplish happened. Because the more we read they were afflicted, the more they multiplied and spread out. But then we see this king was really hard-headed, and we'll see that also very clearly in the history to come. He did not give up. He decided to increase their suffering. Verse 13 and 14, we read that they did not only work as slaves with brick and mortar, but also had other work doing. They were doing other work also in the fields. Yes, in all their work, they were made slaves. I think we need to listen carefully. It is not God's intention that rulers are there to enslave us and God's people, for that matter specifically. We do not exist to become slaves for the rulers of a country, let alone if they have evil plans to control the population through crafty means, because that was what this man was doing. We are free, and God will show this to Israel. They did not understand this principle first. You and I know we are free in Christ. They were still in the process of becoming to the point where God will bring them out of Egypt, and He will show Himself to them more and more in His almighty power. But the fact is, You and I know that we are reborn to be free in Christ and we are called to live and do all our work in the first place for His glory and according to the standards that God has given us in His Word. And to that, you and I need to obey first. And I think that also means that a government must remember that the church is sovereign in its own sphere. And the government has no warrant to tell the church what to do and how to worship. And we must never allow even a hint of that. So back to this history, this effort of the pharaoh was really in vain, because we know God's purposes can never be stopped. So I trust that you are amazed by this divine mystery that under affliction, God still grows His people. Under suffering, God still blesses His people, His children. God's people live. with a power source, if you would, the Egyptians did not know of. And that is why they were in dread of the sons of Israel, verse 12. They did not know the secret of the nation of God. But then we see the fierce attack of the king continue, started to execute the second part of this plan. because he was still not done. He continues with a brutal step as he tried to exterminate the people of God. He commanded every son who was born to be cast into the Nile. Once again, he was afraid that these boys will one day be strong to fight. This evil man needed control over this growing nation in their midst. Hard labor did not work. Now he will enforce a state-mandated genocide, and he does it in two ways. First, he does it with the means to say, listen, and we'll talk about them in a minute here. Go to these midwives, and he told the midwives, you make sure that they don't even be born, or you kill them as they are born. You know? When you think about what he was doing, and I call it a state-mandated genocide, because that's some of the commentators that use that term, because this is what it was. I think you and I are so naive sometimes if we think it cannot happen in our modern age. It already happened in the time of Israel. So he decided to kill them. because it was all for the greater good, for the protection of the nation, of the king and his power. So he commanded the midwives to kill the sons of the Hebrew women when they were upon the birthstool, apparently a little stool as low as a potter's stool that was used by the women to sit on when they give birth. And only two names are given of these midwives. Every midwife was to do what the king has ordered. But then we see these women decided not to obey the decree of the woman, and the reason is given to us. They fear the God of heaven. And you and I know it's always better to fear the king of heaven instead of the sinful commands of an earthly king, right? It reminds me of the actions of Peter and the apostles when they stood before the council and the high priest forbid them to preach the gospel. We read in Acts 5.29, their response was, we must obey God rather than men. This is exactly what these women did. These two women broke the circle of death that the Pharaoh wanted to draw around God's people. Isn't that amazing? The Almighty God used normal, plain, weak instruments like these two women to oppose a world leader. That's about a shout-out. That is unbelievable. And God blessed these two women profoundly, if you look at verse 20 and 21. He gave them families. You know, the behavior of these two sisters in the faith I think must challenge us also this morning. How often do you and I doubt that we could make a difference in life? How often do we not stand up for what is right to do what God wants us to do? And perhaps we feel, well, I am not that important. Perhaps we think what I would say or what I would do would not make this profound difference. Perhaps we think we are not too smart or perhaps important or uppity. We might think we do not have the education to do that. Or perhaps at worst, we might be too afraid for the consequences and thus remain inactive. Well, all that God requires of us as his children is to have faith, to trust him, and to obey. because he has everything in his hands and under his control. And in the times that we are living in, we will more and more, I think, be challenged as we live and walk in faith in Christ. God wants us to make our assurance and election fast so that we will know how to act in times like these. God wants us to have certainty that we are part of His kingdom, the kingdom of Jesus Christ, and that Christ is our King, and that we are willing to share that with the world and stand as His subjects in this kingdom, opposed to what the world is doing. So we need to ask ourselves, what do you and I allow to rule over us and our conscience? Would we obey more God's word or the word of man? Would we put our trust in? Is it completely in the living sovereign God or do we trust in the government? I remember there was a time that we just followed every word that the CDC said and the many voices that goes out today more and more want to determine the character of our societies and really the character of our lives sometimes. How much control will we allow to the point of enslavement? or to the point of allowing death. Of course, we have to obey those who rule over us, but we also have a responsibility to make sure that we do not allow things that are against God's will and act upon those things in the right ways that God has also prescribed to us. Because more and more, it seems to me that people see the only moral way is the way of the government and what they say. What they say is law and then people follow that. They don't question it, they just go along with it. Because it's sometimes for the greater good. And not far behind the government is the power of public opinion. How often are people led by the opinion of the public? If the public and the majority say, but this is right, then that must be right. Don't question it. The question that you and I always have to ask ourselves is what is right in the eyes of God? I'm not stirring up a rebellion, okay? But I think we live in a time that we are not thinking for ourselves. And we always have to look, if we have biblical worldviews, we must always look to the world and everything around us through the lenses of the Bible. That is the only instrument that God used to guide us. That's how God guides us. And then we can follow. So, count me out if we just follow the majority. because I, in a sense, want to act like these women. I want to obey, first of all, the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. I don't want fear to numb me and make me so inactive that I don't feel I can do anything. I want to remember these women who stood before God. They stood up for God. But even more than that, the only way we could live like these women is if we fear God more. And God prepared the way for us to do so. He sent His own Son who lived in perfect obedience to His will to the point of death. That's what our Lord and Savior did. And if we embrace Him in a true faith, we are a new creation. By His blood, He delivers us from a life of slavery and brought us into the freedom to serve God. He paid the price when He suffered and bled and died on a cursed cross. He rose again for our justification. His payment was accepted, in other words, by the Father. So He freed us from Satan and a life of fear. Yes, through His Holy Spirit, He gives us the strength to make a difference for the glory of His name. No matter what terrible and satanic ways are used in an effort to destroy God's church, But remember again this morning, nothing will ever stop the living God to accomplish his perfect purposes for his church. No ruler who causes the affliction of his people, God always continues on the way, on the road of victory. And I think another thing that we should not forget That's why God brought them out of Egypt. God did not want His people to become so satisfied that they felt, well, let's just continue to live in Egypt. This is the way of life. No. Because they easily could have become so relaxed and so satisfied with their circumstances that they forget that God is their God, and He promised them something else. Remember, and I'm not going to repeat that, why did the bones went out? Joseph's bones was taken with them. They may not forget that they have a land that God has promised them. So there was divine purpose even in their affliction. And you and I may know that always, that He is always amid of accomplishing His will, using that in our lives to strengthen us, to strengthen His church amidst of our suffering. In a sense, we should even not see ourselves as victims of our earthly persecutors, because God's promise is always more powerful than the oppression. And God is ultimately still in control. Through the history of the church, Satan has attempted to wipe out the church, trying to undo God's election and His covenant promises. But even amidst of that, we know God is still in control. Because 2,000 years ago, Satan did not attack the church alone, but tried to eliminate the head of the church, Jesus Christ himself. When Christ was born, what happened? The king sent out a decree that all babies had to be killed, same method. And when that did not succeed, Satan thought he clinched the final victory when Christ died on the cross. Little did he understand that Christ first said, it is finished. The death of Jesus Christ was all part of God's sovereign purposes. All he came to do for his church was done and fulfilled. All his suffering had divine purposes to free you and me from this world completely, to make us free from all fear, even the fear that is caused by suffering, to make us realize that in Christ, you and I are not from Egypt. Our destiny is Jerusalem, the eternal Jerusalem, and he will safely lead us home. Amen. Father, we thank you for being the powerful God who are in control each and every day of our lives in all circumstances. Doesn't matter through what trials and tribulations you take us. Father, we thank you that you came and comfort us this morning again with the gospel. Let us remember who we are in Jesus Christ. Let us remember that we have all the strength and all the power we need. to live a life to your glory. Lead your church, Lord, through your means of grace also in this coming week as we stand up against that which is evil and proclaim your name day by day. We pray this in his name. Amen. Our final hymn is hymn number 526, The Solid Rock. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand. Darkness fails his lovely face, I rest on his unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale, My anchor holds within the veil. On Christ the solid rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand. of the ground, this sinking sand. His love, his covenant, his blood, support me in the whelming flood. When all around my soul gives way, he then is all my hope and say. On Christ the solid rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand. When He shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in Him be found, Rest in His righteousness alone, God bless to stand before the throne. On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand. Amen. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Yeah.