with me if you will in your Bibles for Old Testament reading to Exodus chapter 1. We will be reading verses, chapter 1 verse 8 through chapter 2 verse 10 rather than through verse 15. I'll explain why or you'll see why in just a little bit. Exodus 1, 8 to 2, 10. 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. And therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Ramses. 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, made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and in brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. And 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 serve 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 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 all 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. The people multiplied and grew very strong. Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. And Pharaoh commanded all of his people, saying this, that every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live. Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes, endowed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, this is one of the Hebrews' children. Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, go. So the girl went and called the child's mother and Pharaoh's daughter said to her, take this child away and nurse him for me and I will give you your wages. So the woman took the child and nursed him. When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses because she said, I drew him out of the water. Now turning with me to the book of Hebrews chapter 11 for a new Testament reading. I know in the order of worship it says that the sermon will be verses 23 to 28 but actually we will just focus on verse 23 this morning as we'll consider this the testimony of Moses' parents. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 23. By faith Moses when he was born was hidden for three months by his parents because they saw that the child was beautiful. They were not afraid of the King's Edict. This is the word of the Lord. Let us go before the Lord in prayer. Our gracious God and Father, we do thank you for your word. We thank you for the depths of the wisdom found in your word. We ask that you would enable us by your spirit's power to understand clearly those things that you have said, that we might live lives as the people of God in this day and age. We ask these things in Christ's name. Amen. The book of Genesis ended on something of a cliffhanger, didn't it? As we wrapped up Hebrew's overview of the book of Genesis just two weeks ago, we find that there is the great promise that was given in Genesis chapter three, that the son of the woman, the offspring of Eve and the son of Abraham would crush the serpent's head. And yet this still remains unfulfilled by the time we reach the end of the book of Genesis. Moreover, God had promised that this particular son would be a royal son, one who would lead God's people to a place of heavenly rest. We considered that a few weeks ago when we looked at the life of Abraham. And yet, as we make it to the end of Genesis, the promised son has still not yet arrived. Israel is not even in Canaan. Israel is now enslaved in Egypt. And now sin and death continue to reign. And as we begin the opening chapters of Exodus, we find that this reality is accented even further. Not only is Israel outside of the promised land, they have now gone down to Egypt. What was once a family of 70 under Joseph have now numbered in the millions. Truly, they are as numerous as the sand on the seashore. This is the very phrase that Moses will say to them just a few chapters later, showing that the Lord is still being faithful to his promises. But we also recognize that Joseph, even though he was Pharaoh's right-hand man, we find that a new Pharaoh has arisen 400 years later who is determined not only to enslave the people of God, the descendants of Joseph, but also to slaughter their sons. See, the book of Exodus records for us a conflict of kingdoms. I think we ought to recognize that this is simply not just another struggle between two ancient kingdoms as if we were reading about ancient battles between Rome and Carthage or the struggles between France and Germany in the 19th and 20th century. This is the struggle of the seed of the woman versus the seed of the serpent. Exodus 1 records for us the satanic onslaught against the messianic line. This is really highlighted in big neon lights for us as we continue to read the Old Testament in its totality. If you look at Isaiah chapter 27, for instance, or Ezekiel chapter 29, the prophets will refer to Pharaoh by another name. They will refer to him as the great serpent. And now the serpent Pharaoh himself has commanded the slaughter of every Hebrew son. in an attempt to wipe out the promised son who the Lord had said would crush the serpent's head. Here we find an attempt to keep the Son of God from appearing. In other words, what we have recorded before us is a conflict between the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of Christ. And what we find here is that the warriors on the front lines of this battle are midwives and mothers. Turns out not all heroes wear capes, right? Here we find that the midwives are seen as the women of faith in this opening chapter of Exodus. The midwives defied the king's edict to murder the Hebrew sons. I think it's really interesting in looking at church history, for those of you who are familiar with the Genevan Bible. English Protestant Bible that predates the King James Version by about 50 years. And it's really, in one sense, the first study Bible. It was an English translation of the Bible, Old Testament, New Testament, that also had study aids, notes, and particularly study notes at the bottom of the page. And what's really interesting is that King James hated it so much He wanted a new Bible to be translated. One of the reasons he hated the Geneva Bible so much was because when you look at Exodus chapter 1 verse 19, in the footnotes, in the study section at the bottom of the page, it simply says this. Speaking of the Hebrew midwives, that their disobedience herein was lawful. In other words, the commentary found in the Geneva Bible served as a proof text for civil disobedience. You could see why the king was quite unhappy with such a study Bible, something that seemed to undermine King James authority. Now, of course, as we consider this particular passage, this particular verse, I don't think we can skirt over it. This is something that keeps popping up even in our current day over the past few weeks. For those of you who are familiar with the Internet and the various hot takes that are popping up, there are some that are really good. some really bad, and I think some just plain stupid. But I do think that it's important for us to understand what it is that's going on. How is it that Exodus 1 could say that God dealt well with the midwives who disobeyed the king when, as we had read earlier in our reading of the law, Romans 13, the command to be obedient to the civil magistrate. How do we reconcile these various things? I think what we have to do is we have to properly situate the biblical concept of civil disobedience within the broader scope of what the Bible teaches about civil obedience, right? We can't simply cherry pick the verses. As you recall, Paul's letter to the Church of Rome was written somewhere around 5758. And for those of you who know your Roman history, the emperor who sits on the throne is Nero. Nero, of course, is not the kindest or friendliest emperor to the Christians. He, of course, would use the Christian's astiki torches to light up his garden parties at night. He was one who was very hostile to the church and the kingdom of Christ. And yet, nevertheless, even while Nero sits on the throne, Paul writes Romans chapter 13 and says that every person must be subject to the governing authorities. Of course, the context within which Paul writes this is that of heavy taxes, right? That's what you see in verses 6 and 7 of Romans 13. Paul says, look, you're still to owe taxes to the emperor, credit to where credit is due, honor to where honor is due, and reverence to where reverence is due. In other words, what Paul is saying in Romans 13 is, you don't like the tax policy, well, get over it. pay taxes, be a good citizen. To rebel against the king on this matter is as if you're rebelling against God himself. Perhaps puts a new light on our understanding of the American Revolution, I think, but I'm not an American historian, so I don't have to say anything further. And of course, we live in a day and age we don't live in a monarchy. And so I'm not saying that you can't vote for a new candidate who will provide lower taxes. And it doesn't mean in our current situation that you can't lobby for a new leader. But the point is this, that Christians are to be the best citizens of the kingdom and nation into which they are born. In other words, there's an honor that is owed dignitaries by virtue of their office. You think of Matthew chapter 23, for instance. I think everybody knows when you read the New Testament that Jesus is not a fan of the Pharisees. Here is a religious establishment and leadership that Jesus calls whitewashed tombs. It is an establishment that Jesus refers to as hypocrites, yet they are in power. And Jesus tells his disciples in Matthew chapter 23 that the Pharisees presently occupy Moses' seat. Therefore, you are obligated to observe what they say, but you're not to do the works that they do. In other words, if we're going to apply this today, we are to treat our present presidential administration with the same respect that we treated the last one. and the one before that, and the one before that. Again, not to say that we might not be frustrated by certain policies, but at the same time, there is a respect due by virtue of the office. We could perhaps put it like this, that because God has established the government as a good thing, the office is good, even if the people occupying it are not. And I think that sets the context for us understanding what is going on here. When we look at Exodus chapter 1, we find, of course, the issue is not necessarily, well, it's not heavy taxation, but it is the slaughter of innocents. What would you do if the state forced you to murder your own child? We think that this might be outlandish, but just think of China's policy over the past few decades. This is something that we see going on. And, of course, this is a particularly pointed issue. that is going on here within the context of redemptive history. This is the satanic attempt to overthrow the Messiah. And of course, point to one last passage. Again, we try to understand what is going on here. You think of Acts chapter 5. Peter, James, and John are preaching and proclaiming the gospel and the authorities arrest them and draw them in and say, you cannot preach Christ crucified and raised. They release them from prison. What do they go and do? They continue to preach Christ crucified and raised. Of course, they get brought in back by the government. They say, what did we tell you? Did you not understand a first time? I think what's really striking, you read this in Acts 5, 29, they don't go in some fiery tirade. There's no self-righteous Twitter rant. They don't develop some type of martyrdom complex. The response is very short and simple. It is this, we must obey God rather than men. In other words, what the Bible teaches about this is that we as Christians must obey the civil authorities in all things, even those things that we do not like, such as paying taxes, unless it contradicts the word of God and the worship of God. And that we are, as citizens of another kingdom, obligated to obey a higher authority. Now, returning to the Hebrew midwives, why is it that they obeyed God? Exodus 121 tells us the very reason. It says that they feared God. Recognizing this, the government has told us to murder our Hebrew sons, and yet we know that there's one that we have to be held accountable even over Pharaoh. It's not that they weren't afraid of Pharaoh's rage, necessarily. rather the issues that they feared God more. Nelson Mandela actually made this, I think, a really insightful comment a number of years ago that I think is really helpful to think of what's going on here because Hebrews 11.23 actually makes this point that Moses' parents, and we can also probably group in the Hebrew midwives, said that they did this because they were not afraid of the king's edict. Now, I don't think it's necessarily the absence of fear. Nelson Mandela puts it like this, his courage, It's not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. In other words, the question is, who are you going to fear more? Jesus himself says that same thing in, I believe, I don't have it in front of me, I think it's Matthew chapter 10. Do not fear the one who can cast your body into the grave, but fear the one who can cast your soul into hell. In other words, there is one who is to be feared above all, and that is the Lord God himself, the one to whom we must give an account for everything that we do and everything that we say. I think that's the case here. It's not that the midwives or Moses' parents did not recognize that there would be consequences to their actions. If the Hebrew midwives, after a while, do not put the sons to death, Pharaoh's going to start noticing that there are a lot of boys running around. In fact, he actually confronts them and asks them. They recognize that to attempt to save the life of these children might entail losing their own, that they'll be putting their own neck out on the lines. But at the end of the day, who is to be feared more? Is it the God of Abraham, or is it the kings of this world? And the midwives chose the latter, and the Bible says that God blessed them, that he gave the midwives themselves families. Of course, this enrages Pharaoh all the more. Now he orders for all the sons to be drowned in the Nile. I think there's a certain sense of poetic justice when we make it just a few chapters later when Pharaoh's army themselves will be the ones who drown. Well, the scene shifts from focusing on the faith of the midwives to the faith in Exodus chapter 2 of Moses' own parents, particularly Moses' mother. Here is a woman, a mother and a father who refused to drown their own son, but instead they hide him for three months. Both Acts 7 and Hebrews 11 give the same reason. It says, you know, because they saw that the boy was beautiful. And it doesn't mean that they looked at him and said, you know, you're too cute to die. It's kind of something similar that I say to my dog every morning. except it's year two, expensive to die. This is something I think more pointed. I think quite possibly they recognize that there's something special about their own son. God's calling on their son's life. But I think more fundamental though is this reality that here is a child who is made in the image of God. Genesis chapter 9, the Lord gave this command that whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed. Why? For God made man in his own image. And here is a family going, I know the government says that I should put my child to death. But here is a beautiful child. Here is one who images God. And it is better to obey God than man. Even if that man is the most powerful king on the face of the earth. And I think there is more to this story, more that we will pick up next week. But for now, I think we should know that this is not the only time that Satan had tried to hinder the arrival of the Messiah. In Matthew chapter 2, we're told of another king that tries to thwart the coming of Christ. But this time it is not Pharaoh. Rather, it's the puppet king of Israel. It is Herod the Great. There's a certain reversal of sorts here. And when you read Matthew chapter one and two, even the pagan sages of this world, the wise men of the East recognize that the Messiah is about to be born and they come not to kill him, but to worship him. And yet it is the King of Israel who does all he can to try to stop the arrival of Christ. And so he orders the slaughter of all the Hebrew sons. And so Joseph and Mary, just as Moses' parents had done, seek a place of refuge to deliver their son so he would not be put to death. Joseph and Mary flee actually to Egypt. It's a rather sad state of affairs that Egypt is a better place to live than the promised land in Jesus' own day. And just like Moses, Joseph and Mary flee, well, Joseph and Mary flee to protect their son just as Moses' parents had attempted and succeeded to protect their son. And just as Moses grew to deliver God's people from Egypt, so, of course, we know the story of Christ, our Savior, who grew to deliver God's people from sin and from Satan's tyranny, the true serpent. I think this has significance, great significance, today in how we live as the people of God. Their faith testifies of the world to come. They recognize that there is a judgment seat and a day of judgment to be had. so that they recognize that when the government issues ungodly laws they cannot abide by, they do not abide by them respectfully, but they abide and give honor to God because God is to be feared more highly than man. I think what's important to see here is that faith is not easy believism. Paul himself says this, indeed all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. There are times And the people of God will have to obey God in such a way that it puts them in the crosshairs of the world, and perhaps even in the crosshairs of the state. And yet faith is to order our present life, because this is not the end of our lives, even if the government were to put the people of God to death. Because there is a greater world to come. We are citizens of another world, as Colossians 3 says. And although God has ordained the civil magistrate as a legitimate office, whose job is to promote the good of the people and to punish evil, there are nevertheless ungodly men and women who occupy those offices, who seek to hinder or destroy the advancement of Christ's kingdom on earth. And it raises a very important question, how is it that we are to respond? And we see so much of the Bible addressing this issue. I think even the book of Daniel as a whole addresses, how do you live as the people of God under the auspices of a pagan regime? What if our government commanded the slaughter of our children? How would we respond? What if our government outlawed public worship? This is where I think we need to stop and consider our present circumstances. Again, there are a lot of hot takes swirling around the internet as to whether or not public worship is being prohibited. And the answer, of course, is right now it is not being prohibited. We can still live stream. How should we think about the church in the year of the corona? Right? What is it that we are to do? And I think what an important, an important principle for us as the people of God. and thinking through ethics is what does the law of God say? One of the things I encourage everyone to do this week with your families is to read the Westminster Larger Catechism, questions 98 to 100. Those three catechisms give us a grid for how we are to use the Ten Commandments in determining not only what is right, but also what is wise, what is the wisest course of action. I'd like to just spend a few minutes doing a particular thought exercise. I know this is different from most sermons, but I don't feel like I could just skirt over this topic since so many people have already emailed me this week or have called asking this particular thing as other states are beginning to open up. How is it that we are to respond as the people of God. And so I'd like us to think through the law of God as a grid for operating in godliness and wisdom. One interpretive principle we find is this, that whatever God prohibits something, for instance, murder, it's not just the negative prohibition that's important. but also the positive aspect of the command. In other words, it's not simply, thou shalt not murder, and you think, okay, well, I have not gone on a killing rampage this week, I must be pretty good. It's also positively stated, I must do everything I can to preserve the life of my neighbor. It's exactly what we saw going on with the Hebrew midwives. They were doing everything they could to preserve the lives of the Hebrew sons. You know, for instance, you think of the book of Deuteronomy, there's an extended section. I know our men and women's small groups had about a year ago went through Deuteronomy. And Deuteronomy is more or less an exposition of the Ten Commandments in many ways. And there's this lengthy section where Moses applies the Sixth Commandment to the way in which Israel is supposed to live. And you think of ancient Israel, you know, instead of having a front porch, their front porch, so to speak, was on the roof. And so Moses says, when you enter the promised land and you build your homes, top of your roof, you should put a fence around it so that your neighbor, when you're hanging out, having a barbecue, he doesn't fall over and break his neck and die. It's just a simple application of the prohibition, thou shalt not murder. It's also do what you can. It affects our building codes, for instance, how it is that we do and care for the lives around us. And our civil leaders have implemented the stay-at-home order for this very reason. It's one that both myself and the elders have agreed with, right? We don't want anybody to die from this. We don't want all 270 people to come into church, be singing, and then somebody to contract the coronavirus and then die four or five days later. But that's not the only commandment we also have to consider. There's also the fifth commandment, we are called to honor our father and mother. And the larger catechism talks about that this applies not just to parents, but also to superiors and inferiors. And it is the responsibility of those in higher power to protect the life and freedom of those under their authority. And also, consequently, it says, the catechism and First Timothy 2 says, it is our responsibility to pray for our leaders. I think the catechism makes really important comment that even we are obligated to bear with their infirmities, that even when we think that they're making a mistake, that a way in which to honor them is to bear under it. So I think so far, so good. Those are Commandments 5 and 6. But what about the Fourth Commandment? And this is where things start to get maybe a little sticky, perhaps even frustrating. Is it right, for instance, I don't mean to pick on Walmart, I'm just randomly picking a store. for Walmart to have over 100 people in their building on a Sunday. But a church, regardless of the size of its building, can't even have more than 10 people. Is that consistent? No, I don't think so. Is it frustrating? Definitely. It's incredibly frustrating. I think part of this even goes to the first commandment. Why is it that people can still go out on a Sunday and purchase pornography and lotto tickets, but the people of God can't gather to worship? I think this at least exposes and gives a pulse where our country's priorities are. At the same time, is this persecution? I don't think it is because it's not only churches that are closed. There are a lot of department stores that are still closed. All the schools are closed. There are so many people who are having to work from home. And so is this the most consistent application of protecting the people? Maybe, maybe not. But is it persecution? I don't think so. And again, I'm not trying to have anybody fall on either side, but I want us to recognize how difficult this particular issue is. We wouldn't do well to pretend that this wasn't a difficult situation, that the dilemmas that we face aren't tricky. And I'm not trying to be exhaustive. There are plenty of other things to take into consideration. What I am wanting us to do, however, since we are the people of God, is to consider how to use the law of God so that we might live in obedience to God, so that we might know where we must submit to the civil authorities, and that we might know those areas where we have to disobey respectfully. But I think there's another reason I mention this, and that's the peace of the church. areas are opening up around the country, the situation is going to differ not only from state to state, but perhaps even from county to county, even within the churches of our own denomination. And so the churches are going to respond differently as we begin to reopen, even churches within our own denomination. What I don't want us to harbor or develop in our hearts are two things. On the one hand, I don't want us to harbor a defiant attitude against the government. I think it'd be very easy to proof text a couple passages of scripture to try to justify the rebellious attitude in our hearts against the civil authorities, particularly those that we might oppose along political party affiliations. But neither do I want us to foster a self-righteous attitude against other believers. Or we might look at another even OPC church down the street and say, well, look, we're doing it right and those guys are just a bunch of dummies. Or alternatively, well, that church is doing it right and we've really dropped the ball. We're really, really disobeying God here. How pitiful we are. I don't want us to do any of those. I want us to recognize that this is a complicated situation. It is a complex issue that involves a number of factors, and in fact, to be honest, a number of moving pieces. And so I think what we need today as the people of God is we consider applying this passage to our life. It'd be very easy to jump on the soapbox and go, you know, you see, the Hebrew midwives have rebelled against the government. Therefore, so should we. I want us to make sure that we're taking into account the whole counsel of God. And that requires patience. It requires humility, and it requires wisdom. And of course, the good news that we have is this. Just as the psalmist tells us, your word, O Lord, is a lamp to my feet, and it is a light to my path. And so I ask for the church to be doing in the coming weeks is to pray for our leaders, that the Lord would grant them wisdom so that the church and the gospel can spread peaceably among all people in a safe way that promotes the good and the welfare of the people around us and does not inhibit the gospel. But I also ask that you would pray for the session here and for the elders and sessions of the other churches in the area as we all have to consider the wisest path forward in the weeks and the months ahead. Let us pray. Our gracious God and Father, we do thank you for your word. We thank you for the clarity that you have given us. We thank you for your law, which guides us in all things. We ask that you would give us the wisdom and the patience to be diligent in all things, that we would seek to serve you above all, but that we would also seek to honor our local magistrates to the extent that we are able to do so, not just externally, but also from the heart, that we would do these things as we are doing them to you. And that if ever there comes a time where we have to disobey, we would do so respectfully, knowing that we're doing all things before the face of our triune God. We ask these things in Christ's name. Amen.