Hope for the Despondent Exodus 6:1-9

“So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency and cruel bondage” (Exod. 6:9, NASB).

In the year 2008 Barak Obama, a young African American is elected to the office of President of the United States of America. What a stunning victory! People all over America are in disbelief, and at the same time they are happy beyond their expectations. John Lewis a Black congressman from Georgia expresses the sentiment of many Americans, both black and white when he says, “I never thought that I would see this in my lifetime.”

These words coming from the lips of John Lewis express the hope of a man who has worked his entire adult life to make the United States a better place for all citizens. As a teenager John Lewis attended Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. He got involved in the civil right movement, and he became a leader in the movement. He was beaten more than once for taking a stand for justice. His voice became one of the leading voices of the movement. He is elected to the United States congress representing his district in the state of Georgia where he continues to be a voice for justice and change.

John Lewis is a man that is similar to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, men that live in covenant relationship with God. In the book of Hebrews we read these words about these patriarchs of Israel: “All these died in the faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth” (Heb. 11:13, NASB). These men all have faith in God. Each in his own way hears the voice of God calling them to action. Each one of them experiences a personal relationship with God. They know God and they are known by God. They live and die with faith and hope in the God that they know. This brings us to our text.

Our text gives us a story about a people that have not experienced a personal relationship with God. They are the sons of promises made to their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They have heard about the God of their fathers, but they are ruled by a people, the Egyptians, that worship many gods. The Egyptians do not worship the God of their fathers. In fact they pay little or no attention to Hebrews that talk about the God of their fathers. Why should the Egyptians be concerned about such a God? After all, the Hebrews have been slaves for over 300 years. By now it seems evident that this God does not exist. The Hebrews talk about the God of their fathers, but they have no expectation that they will experience freedom in their lifetime.

So, here the Hebrews find themselves slaves in Egypt having been slaves for over 300 years. They are adjusted to their lives. They have a deep longing for freedom, but they do not expect to experience it in their lifetime. They get up every morning and head out to the mud pits where they stomp straw in the mud to make bricks that are used for great economic gain for Pharaoh, king of Egypt. They see the majestic buildings and monuments built from the bricks that they have made, but they will never see the inside of any of these building. So they work all day, go home to their families and enjoy life as best they can. They do not allow themselves to dream and hope for a better life.

God calls Moses and commands him to go to Egypt and bring His sons out and take them to the land that God promised to give to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Now, Moses has good sense so God’s call seems unreasonable. He was raised as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, a prince of Egypt. He goes out to visit his slave brothers, but they reject him. Moses murders an Egyptian and has to flee the country. He finds a home in Median with Jethro who gives him a wife from his seven daughters. He settles in with his new family. Over the span of forty years he learns to live outside the palace. He is a shepherd of his father-in-law’s sheep. Moses is content now, but the flames of justice and the desire to ask God about His people’s slavery still burn in his heart.

Moses returns to Egypt and goes to the elders of the sons of Israel. He manages to convince them that the God of the patriarchs has visited him and they are to go to Pharaoh and tell Pharaoh that their God says let the people go into the wilderness to worship him. However, instead of letting the people go Pharaoh increases the hardship of their bondage. Pharaoh reasons that the slaves are lazy. They need to work harder so they need to go out and gather their own straw to make bricks, but their required tally will not be diminished. Things don’t get better. Instead their quest for freedom increases the cruelty of their bondage. God does not change. His purpose and His plans do not change. God has a plan to deal with the king of Egypt. Moses is to speak to the sons of Israel. God remembers His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The patriarchs are dead, but God is alive. God is about to fulfill His promises made to the patriarchs.

Moses speaks to the sons of Israel. He tells them everything that God has commanded him. This time however, they pay Moses no attention. They do not believe Moses. The last time that they listened to Moses things went from bad to worse. They have become despondent. Their spirits have been brought low. They have become discouraged. They have lost hope. It’s back to the grind. They will never see freedom. They will never again pay attention to Moses and his stories about God and the promises made to their forefathers that lived 300 years ago. Let us go back to the life that we know. Although it would be nice to experience freedom, I will not waste my time dreaming about something that will never come true. God does not change. His promises are sure. He has plans to fulfill His promises. God forever remains faithful to the covenants that he makes to the people that He chooses to make His own.

God sends ten plagues upon the land of Egypt. Pharaoh not only allows the people to go. Pharaoh drives the sons of Israel out of the land. When Pharaoh realizes that he has lost his free labor he seeks to recapture his slaves. God stops the efforts of Pharaoh by drowning his entire army in the sea. God desires that his people be free, not from manual labor only, but from bondage and servitude to sin. Therefore, Israel’s freedom in the physical is only a picture of what God intends for His people in the body, mind, and spirit.

Jesus comes and preaches the gospel. He says, “‘the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel’” (Mk. 1:15, NASB). The word “repent” here means that the people are to have a change in mind about how they live their life. Their morals and ethics fall short of being acceptable in the kingdom of God. Jesus comes to bring the rule of God. Things are different now. Jesus says, “‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives. And recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord” (Lk. 4:18-19, NASB).

Today, there are many people that are despondent. They see their circumstances in life go from bad to worse. Women that thought they had married the love of their life and anticipated marital happiness are despondent. They live in silence in abusive relationships. They go to church and bible study, and they enjoy the moment, but they return home despondent having lost all hope for a change in their circumstances.

The young man is raised in the church. His family members are held in high esteem. He comes to church. He smiles at the people, but he returns home despondent. He finally admits to himself that he prefers men over women. Some of the people know this and they shake his hand and smile at him. Deep down inside the young man knows that he must keep his relationships in the closet. He will never be fully accepted by his church. The members admit that “all have sinned and fall short of the mark of God’s glory,” (Rom. 3:23), but for some reason God will not forgive his sin and he cannot be justified by faith and have peace with God (Rom. 5:1).

Her husband cannot understand her. He thinks that he has made a big mistake marrying the woman that displaces her anger and abusive behavior on to him. He knows that he has done nothing to deserve this. Little does he know that the woman that he loves is despondent. She lives silently in pain from the sexual abuse that she experienced as an innocent fifteen year old girl at the hands of a trusted family friend.

There is hope for the despondent. Do not live to please people. Do not put your hope in people. Believe the gospel. Put your faith in Jesus. Put your hope in Jesus. “Build your hopes on things eternal. Hold to God’s unchanging hand.