I AM the LORD: God's Word to Us6/22/2019 Times were tough. Moses was between a rock and a hard place. The Israelites had given up on God. All seemed lost. Then God spoke hope into the situation. But only one person listened to that word and was forever changed.
God uttered a word for Moses to pass on to the Israelites, but the Israelites didn’t listen. However, as we discussed last week, I think God gave it more for Moses’ benefit than Israel’s. Moses needed the encouragement from God. And God gave it. Let’s read again what God said.
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I AM the LORD: God's Word to Moses6/15/2019 The plight of the Israelites had gone from bad to worse. The people of Israel had given up on Moses and Aaron and even started blaming them for their additional problems. They were done listening and had given up all hope of deliverance. Meanwhile, Moses was ready to throw in the towel. Within the first few days of his mission, it seemed that his efforts had failed. At the first sign of resistance, Moses was ready to give up.
Moses and Aaron told the people of Israel all that God had said to Moses during his burning bush encounter. They performed the signs God gave them and Israel believed and worshipped God for remembering His people. Thus ended chapter four—a good, positive ending. One that would make a person believe that Moses’ mission was already a success. However, there was rocky water ahead.
Pharaoh's Folly6/1/2019 Pharaoh was the most powerful ruler in the world during the days of Moses. His kingdom was vast and Egypt was at the height of its glory. And while the Pharaoh reigning during the time of Moses’ return to Egypt didn’t have the same paranoia about the Israelites as the previous one, he did recognize the usefulness of free labor and continued oppressing the Hebrews and enslaving them in hard manual labor.
God Requires Purity in His Leaders5/25/2019 God finally gave Moses his way and appointed a spokesperson. So Moses went off on his way to Egypt, ready to obey God’s calling. He had his father-in-law’s blessing and the LORD’s assurance that the Egyptians wouldn’t try to kill him the moment they recognized him. However, before Moses even steps foot in Egypt, there is a little known event that happens during which God actually tries to kill him. It’s an event that covers a mere three verses, but I feel it is important to note as we study the journey of Moses from cowering prince to fearless leader of Israel. Let’s take a look at what happened.
Have you ever felt woefully unprepared for a task? Maybe you felt under-qualified. Or maybe after getting into your project you felt like you got in way over your head. No matter what the situation or circumstances might be, I’m sure we’ve all had a moment or two like that—a moment of panic and feeling completely out of our element.
But don’t worry; even the mighty heroes of the faith had moments like these. In fact, Moses—the mighty and fearless deliver of Israel—felt unprepared for the task God gave him. He actually made several attempts to excuse himself from his calling. So let’s take a look at what happened and see what lessons we can glean from Moses’ attempt at by-passing his God-given mission. The burning bush experience was a pivotal turning point in Moses’ life. He went from a wilderness shepherd to the leader of Israel. He went from knowing little to nothing about God to having a personal encounter with the Creator of the world. It was definitely a life-changing experience!
So far, we’ve spent the last couple weeks looking at how holy ground is where we stand in the presence of God and where we receive our calling. Today, we’re going to look at our final point and take-away from this amazing event: holy ground is where intimate relationship with God starts. How did I get this point? Let’s jump back into Exodus 3 and I’ll show you. Last week, we looked at the beginning of Moses’ burning bush experience. We left off at Exodus 3:6 where Moses realized the identity of God and was filled with healthy fear. However, God wasn’t done with Moses.
The burning bush experience’s purpose wasn’t just to introduce Moses to the God of his forefathers. No, God had a calling for Moses and a job for him to accomplish. Therefore, we’re going to continue on in this riveting narrative and discover that holy ground is also where God reveals His calling. Moses, the former prince of Egypt, became a shepherd, taking care of his father-in-law’s flocks. He married, started a family, and pretty much settled down and made his home in the land of Midian. He probably expected to spend the rest of his days taking care of sheep. But God had other plans.
God Never Forgets4/20/2019 Have you ever been in a seemingly hopeless situation? Have you felt abandoned by those you cared about most? Have you felt like God had forgotten you?
Life is hard. Sometimes we go through situations or circumstances that seem insurmountable. In these times, God can feel distant or even non-existent. However, the truth of the matter is that God is still there, right by our side. He never forgets us nor does He leave us. Sometimes, we are just oblivious to His presence. |
Kristin RenferView the About page for more info on the author. Receive Posts via EmailArchives
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