The sermon, this morning, will focus on two words from our text. The first
is the word ‘groaned’ and the second, ‘cried’. We’ll look at the experience
of the people of Israel at this point in their story and see how these two
words describe their situation. Then, we’re going to see how these two words
describe our situation. Let me tell you now that my goal is to give you
another reason to pray.
Keep in mind what’s going on. Israel is in bondage. They are slaves of the
Egyptians. Now, don’t just pass that by. What did it mean for Israel to be
enslaved? Try to put yourself into that picture. Imagine what your days
would feel like. Your life is not your own. Someone else has already made
the big decisions about your life. And every day is so much like the one
before. Think of the work that these people did. It was physically demanding
labor and that without any letup. But that wasn’t all. There were also the
taskmasters to contend with. And as they felt the pressure from those above
them, they passed it on to you. ‘More! You’re not making enough progress!
Let’s get moving!’ And then, comes the whip. Day after day after day. Add to
that your own thoughts about how this is going to be the kind of life that
your children will have to deal with also. Do you have a little bit of a
sense of what the people of Israel were dealing with? And so, it is no
wonder that they groaned. That’s the perfect word to describe the state of
their souls. They groaned. But even when there was no audible sound escaping
from their lips there was still that persistent oppressive feeling of
weariness that defined their lives. They groaned. To be sure, there were
still some times of happiness. But these were more like interruptions to the
basic theme of their lives, that pervading theme of groaning.
There are different ways to deal with such a life. And we see these
different options in our own day. There are those who have no hope for any
change. These, in one way or another, give up. They yield themselves to what
becomes a downward spiral. And life becomes darker and darker. Even though
their bodies are still functioning, these people have given themselves over
to death. The groaning has won. Then, there are those who are determined to
defy their situation. They strive to stop the groaning. They assert their
will to achieve a different kind of life. But stop and think about this. If
there is real bondage, what does this defiance and striving amount to?
Imagine an Israelite of those days who adopted this attitude. At the end of
the day what have you got. He’s still a slave, his life is still hard and
there is still that whip in the taskmaster’s hand. The reasons for the
groaning have not gone away. This kind of person lives a myth based on the
pride of his own heart. He might fool himself and maybe even some of the
people around him, but the slavery continues. And the groaning remains –
though hidden under another name.
Our text tells us how the people of God of that day made a better choice.
‘They cried out; and their cry came up to God.’ They prayed. Here, we see
faith at work. It is a faith that understands, for one thing, that there is
no solution except the one that their God provides. And so, in the midst of
a life that was so very bleak, the people of God prayed. There was still
hope. But it was not a hope that was in themselves and their striving. It
was a hope that was in their God. Because of their groaning, they cried out
to their God. And He heard them.
Now, we’re ready to see how this describes our situation. What I have to say
next depends on something that I told you when we first started this series.
The history of Israel is, by God’s design, a picture of the life of the
Church. As we look at them, we see ourselves. As we look at them we need to
be sure to look to see ourselves. And so, we now have a question before us.
How does this experience in Israel’s history speak about us? What aspect of
our life as God’s people today is being portrayed here? The place to start
is the word ‘groan’. The Apostle Paul uses this same word in a couple of
places in the New Testament. Listen to one place. ‘For the creation was
subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it,
in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay
and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that
the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth
until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the
firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as
sons, the redemption of our bodies.’ [Romans 8:20-23] Now, there is much
going on in that passage. One thing that I want you to see is that Paul is
teaching us that we groan. It’s a statement of fact, not a command. It is
part of the definition of what it means to be a Christian. And why do we
groan? We groan for the same reason that Israel did. We are in bondage. Now,
it is not a bondage to some nation. That’s the picture in Exodus. That
picture points to a different reality. Ours is a bondage to the fallenness
of creation. We are in bondage to the remnants of sin and death. We have not
yet arrived at the point when this bondage will be completely removed. That
point is what Paul calls here our adoption as sons, the redemption of our
bodies. Paul is talking about when Jesus returns to complete the salvation
that we have begun to experience. That is yet future. Until that time, we
groan.
Let me anticipate a comment. Maybe none of you are thinking it, but there
are some Christians who would. And the comment is simply this. ‘It doesn’t
feel like it. I don’t feel that I am groaning. I don’t feel that I am in
bondage. Paul’s words and my experience don’t match up.’ What do you say to
something like that? The first thing is that this is God’s Word. Paul wasn’t
mistaken in his description of Christians. We start with that. We interpret
our experience in light of Scripture. Scripture says we groan. So, why would
a Christian not feel that he is groaning? I’ll repeat here something that I
told you a couple of weeks ago. We accommodate ourselves to sin. We adjust
our expectations. We hide the groaning under another name. We do that so
life doesn’t hurt so much. So, Dot has knee replacement surgery, and we are
glad for the prospect that she won’t hurt so much, and that’s good. But
consider the process of a body wearing out and having someone cut into it to
try to repair it and that the repair is only temporary. Someone as pious as
an apostle wrestles within himself because instead of doing all the good
things that he really wants to do he does what is so sinful and try as he
may, he cannot change that. Two people fall in love and get married so that
they can live happily ever after. But at different times they find
themselves arguing with this person they have decided to love. Remnants of
sin. Bondage to decay. Reasons to groan.
It’s at this point that someone thinks, ‘How depressing!’ Well, it all
depends on what you do next. If you just stop there you will get depressed.
And that is what some do. And life becomes darker and darker. And there are
others who decide to defy the situation. They strive to overcome the groans
of their lives. They assert their will to achieve a different kind of life.
But if there is real bondage, what does this amount to? In one way or
another, this person will make adjustments to his expectations. He will
accommodate himself to the fallenness of this place. The groans will
continue but hidden and labeled something else. But then, there is the
response of Israel. They cried to their God. They prayed. Understanding the
situation accurately, they prayed.
I am persuaded that joyous Christian living in this fallen world is
impossible apart from the serious habit of prayer. And so, one priority I
hold to every day is to spend some quality time praying. I may skip my daily
Bible reading, but I rarely skip my daily prayer time. One fruit of that is
that I am very optimistic about what God is doing. I feel the groans but I
am very hopeful. My talking about dark things like groaning and decay and
bondage is to encourage you in your prayers. I think that you already know
that the ‘I’m going to give up and be depressed’ option is no good. But you
need to see more clearly that the ‘I’m going to strive harder to overcome
the problems in my life’ option doesn’t work either. It is trying to live as
if there were no bondage, no reason to groan, when there is. And one fruit
of that is accommodating sin, adjusting your expectations down and
re-labeling the groaning. The only option for us is to believe the Gospel in
the midst of our groaning. When we do that we will pray. And we will pray in
hope. We pray in the sure hope that our God is listening. He hears our
prayers, and at the right time He will act and free us from the bondage that
remains. After all, He heard Israel’s prayers.
But what exactly do we pray for? We pray for what I imagine the Israelites
prayed for. I suspect that they prayed for help in the moment. ‘Lord, help
me now. Help me to deal with this problem staring me in the face.’ That’s
what we find so often in the Psalms. You are confronted by the frustrations
of life every day, things that produce your groans. How do you deal with
them? What I am saying is that the only good way to deal with them is to
pray about them. ‘Lord, help me now. Help me to deal with this problem
staring me in the face.’ Pray about them as they are happening. Pray about
them before they happen. You know where the tough issues are going to spring
up. Pray as one in bondage, one who feels the problems and groans. Pray as
one who knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that your God is listening – and
that He will act. Pray in hope.
But there is a second thing that Israel prayed about. They prayed to be
rescued, to be delivered from their bondage. And, as a result, God sent a
savior, Moses. You also need to pray to be rescued. Pray that Jesus would
return. That’s what Paul prayed. ‘Maranatha. Come, Lord.’ [1 Corinthians
16.22] And John also. [Revelation 22.20] We groan because of what is, but
also because of our desire for what we know will be. We know that we will be
rescued, our salvation will be complete, down to the redemption of our
bodies, when Jesus returns. Pray that He comes back soon.
