Moments With God

Exodus 5-6

Living in obedience and submission to the Lord is sometimes challenging and difficult. When the Lord allows a deep trial in our lives it is tempting to question why He has allowed that difficulty in our lives. When the Lord calls us to a special new challenge and assignment in our lives and problems ensue as a result of accepting that new challenge, we may be tempted to give up and think the Lord is not with us.

That may be how Moses felt in Exodus chapters five and six. God had called Moses to lead God’s Old Testament people out of slavery in the land of Egypt. Moses had came up with all kinds of excuses for not accepting God’s call. When all excuses failed Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it," (Exodus 4:13) But it was Moses God had chosen to lead His people out of slavery, and in the end Moses submitted to God’s call on his life.

Hence, at the beginning of Exodus chapter five Moses found himself in the presence of the great Pharaoh of Egypt. Moses said to Pharaoh, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert.’" (Exodus 5:1b) In response Pharaoh arrogantly said, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey Him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go." (Exodus 5:2) To make matters worse that very same day Pharaoh ordered his slave drivers to make God’s people work even harder. Whereas before they had been supplied with straw to meet a difficult daily quota for making bricks, now they had to make that same daily quota but also gather their own straw. A very difficult situation for God’s people seemed to have become impossible. When the daily quota was not met the Israelite foremen were beaten. When the Israelite foremen complained and appealed to Pharaoh, Pharaoh’s responded by saying, "Lazy, that what you are-lazy!---Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks." (Exodus 5:17-18) As a result of their encounter with Pharaoh the Israelite foremen in turn complained to Moses saying, "May the Lord look upon you and judge you! You have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us." (Exodus 5:21) So now Moses was in the position of seeing his fellow Israelites in a worse situation than they were before and of having both Pharaoh and the Israelites angry with him. Moses must have wondered why God allowed this to happen when he had only acted in obedience to God. In desperation Moses prayed to God saying, "O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and You have not rescued Your people at all." (Exodus 5:22-23) Moses was at the end of his rope and was questioning the Lord. Moses needed to remember that when we obey the Lord there may not be instant results. Moses needed to trust God’s perfect timing. God assured Moses that Pharaoh would eventually let God’s people leave Egypt, because of the Lord’s "mighty hand." (Exodus 6:1) The Lord also reminded Moses that He was the God of His ancestors, and He would keep His promise to lead His people to a new and wonderful land. The Lord told Moses that He had "heard the groaning of the Israelites" and would remember His covenant to deliver them. (Exodus 6:5) The Lord also promised to be His people’s God. (Exodus 6:7) The Lord would do all this for them, because He is the Lord God Almighty who can do all things. We too must rest in God and in His promises alone. When we are walking in obedience and still find the situations in our lives very difficult, we must rest it with the Lord. God works all things out in His perfect timing. We like Moses must proceed in faith in spite of overwhelming obstacles.

Exodus 3-4

God delights in using frail weak human beings who are totally submitted to Him as His servants. The Lord wants to break us of self-reliance, and He wants us to understand our own inadequacies. At the same time we must trust the Lord God's unlimited strength and ability to work in and through us. In ourselves we can do nothing, but with the Lord's strength and grace we can do anything He asks us to do.

The Old Testament character, Moses, had been living in the desert land of Midian for forty years, but now God was calling Moses to a new and exciting assignment or call in the Lord God's kingdom. It had been necessary for Moses to live in the barren land of Midian all those years, so that he would learn humility and be emptied of dependence on self. Now in his new assignment as leader of God's Old Testament people Moses would have to rely on the Lord's strength alone.

One day Moses was taking care of his father-in-law's sheep. Suddenly "the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush" (Exodus 3:2) The terminology "angel of the Lord" is often used interchangeably with the Lord God. Therefore, this was probably a pre-incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ who is God Himself! Moses was in the holy presence of God Himself! May we too be ever aware of the holiness and purity of our God. As His children may we seek the Lord's purity in our lives and be dedicated to His service. May we answer the Lord's call and be obedient in all things. (I John 3:2-3)

The Lord then said to Moses, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land.----So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt." (Exodus 3:7-10) As God was concerned about His Old Testament people, the Israelites, so He cares about our sufferings today also. Hence, He will always lead us out of all of our sufferings in His perfect timetable if not now than in eternity!

Moses probably was excited to hear about God’s plan to redeem His people from slavery until he heard God say to him, "I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt." Then Moses started making excuses for not following God's call. Moses said, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" (Exodus 3:11) This was a wrong question on the part of Moses. God always is with us and equips us in all He asks us to do. God’s reply to Moses in Exodus 3:12 was "I will be with you." The Lord God also assured Moses that He was the great "I AM" (Exodus 3:14a) This name for God showed that the Lord God was not only the God of glory and power but also a faithful and dependable God who completely gives Himself to His people generation after generation. As yet another excuse for not accepting God’s call to lead His people out of slavery Moses basically said, "What if Your people do not believe You sent me, Lord, and then refuse to listen to me?" (Exodus 4:1) This was a foolish question and an excuse on the part of Moses, because the Lord had already promised that the elders of the Israelites would listen to Moses. (Exodus 3:18) Moses then tried to use his lack of eloquence in speech as an excuse for not obeying God’s will for his life. God did not accept that excuse either. In the end Moses submitted to God’s call to lead God’s people out of slavery. God will have His way in our lives also, and we will not be at peace until we submit to His will. May we not seek excuses for not submitting to His call to service, or may we not question Him when He brings trials in our lives. In submission to the Lord’s will we find great joy, and then we can be used in great ways in His kingdom!

Exodus 2:11-25

Our Lord wants us to be totally dependent on Him for strength to get through each and every day and each and every moment. So often we are tempted to run to the Lord only in a major crisis and to think we can handle most of life in our own strength. The truth is we are totally dependent on the Lord for everything. Conversely, we can do anything the Lord asks us to do in His strength. Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."

In Exodus chapter two starting at verse eleven the Old Testament character, Moses, can be viewed as an impulsive, self-willed person who was relying on himself to get through life. Before Moses could be used by God to lead God's Old Testament people out of slavery, Moses had to be changed. Moses had to be broken of self-reliance, and it was vital for Moses to understand that he needed to be dependent on the Lord alone.

As a baby Moses had been protected by God from the Egyptian Pharaoh's wicked edict. Pharaoh had made a law saying that all the Israelite baby boys had to be thrown into the Nile River. Through God's love and protection Moses had been spared. Through a series of events described in Exodus chapters one and two Moses had first been raised by his own mother for a few years, and then for most of his early childhood and early adulthood Moses had been raised in the Pharaoh's palace as the son of the princess.

One day after Moses had become a man Moses decided to go out to where his fellow Israelite were working as slaves. While there Moses saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite, one of Moses' own people. "Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand." (Exodus 2:12) Although it was sinful what the Egyptian was doing to the Israelite man, Moses did not have the right to take things into his own hands and kill the Egyptian. Moses should not have tried to take things into his own hands and run ahead of God and His perfect plan. God would use Moses some day to free God's people from slavery, but this needed to happen in God's perfect way and time. So we too must not run ahead of the Lord. We must wait for the Lord's guidance, timing, and strength to accomplish His will successfully as His servants.

Because of this impulsive, self-directed act on the part of Moses he had to run for his life. The Egyptian Pharaoh heard what Moses had done. Therefore Pharaoh "tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian." (Exodus 2:15) Midian was a dry and barren desert, and it was a stark contrast from the previous home of Moses in the palace of the Pharaoh. Moses lived in Midian for forty years. He married, had a son named Gershom and tended his father-in-law, Jethro's flock of sheep. More than likely Moses felt this would be his place in life for the rest of his life. God had other plans for Moses, however. Moses was going to lead God's people away from slavery in Egypt in God's perfect timing, but first God had to change the heart of Moses. Moses had to be taught humility and reliance on God alone. This could only happen in the desert land of Midian.

Sometimes God has to take us through desert-like experiences in our lives also. Sometimes like Moses only through trials in our lives do we learn to wait and depend on the Lord God alone. Sometimes only through deep trials do we learn patience and humility. Then and only then can God use us in His kingdom to accomplish His will. So when we are going through the desert-like experiences of life let us be patient and submissive to His will. The Lord may be using these experiences to mold us to become better reflections of Himself. The Lord may be using these experiences to better equip us to serve Him in wonderful ways in the future!

Exodus 1:22-2:1-10

God demands our total surrender. We must acknowledge Him alone as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. He must be Lord over every area of our lives. Yet there are many nations, leaders, and individuals who rebel against the Lord and His authority. Psalm 2:1 reminds us that nations and individuals who rebel against the Lord "plot in vain."

The ancient Egyptian Pharaoh spoken about in the book of Exodus was a king who "in vain" tried to set himself up in rebellion against the Lord and His people. At this time in history God’s Old Testament people, the Israelites, found themselves living in the foreign land of Egypt. The Egyptian Pharaoh of that time became alarmed at the growth in numbers of God’s Old Testament people. So Pharaoh subjected God’s people to slave labor, and later unsuccessfully tried to order the Hebrew midwives to kill all the baby boys of God’s people. When Pharaoh saw that all his plans were failing, he devised yet another plan. He made a law that every Israelite boy that was born must be thrown into the Nile River. He was hoping in this way to prevent these Israelite boys from growing up to become men who would rebel and make war against him in the future.

During this very difficult time in the lives of God’s Old Testament people a baby boy named Moses was born. The parents of Moses did not want to obey the Pharaoh’s command to throw their precious baby boy into the Nile River. They also saw that Moses "was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edit." (Hebrews 11:23b) Hence, the parents of Moses acted in faith and without fear, and they hid baby Moses for three months. Because of the courage displayed by the parents of Moses they are listed in Hebrew 11 with the other Old Testament heroes of faith! Let us also live our lives with that same kind of faith and trust in the Lord that the parents of Moses exhibited. Let us say with the Psalmist of old, "The Lord is the stronghold of my life-of whom shall I be afraid.?" (Psalm 27:1b)

After three months Moses’ mother could no longer hide him, so "she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile." (Exodus 2:3) This papyrus basket was like a miniature seaworthy boat. After a space of time the Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile River to bathe. The Princess spotted the baby Moses among the reeds. Realizing it was one of the Hebrew babies the princess felt sorry for baby Moses, and she decided to raise him as her son. At this point Moses’ sister approached the princess and said, "Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?" (Exodus 2:7) The princess agreed to this, and so Moses’ mother was able to take Moses home and raise him the first few years of his life without fear. During this time Moses’ mother was probably able to instruct Moses in the ways of the Lord. Later the mother of Moses, however, had to bring Moses to the palace to live as the son of the princess. This must have caused heartache for the mother of Moses, but she had the confidence that Moses was safe. Because the parents of Moses also realized that Moses "was no ordinary child," (Hebrews 11:23), they probably knew God would use Moses in great ways for the cause of their Lord God and God’s people some day. That is exactly what happened. Because of the faith and faithfulness of the parents of Moses their child would be used many years later as God’s instrument in leading God’s people out of Egypt and out of slavery. Moses’ parents may not have fully understood God’s plans and workings in their lives, but the Lord did indeed work out His plan for His own glory and for the good of His people! The Lord does the same for us as His children today! (Romans 8:28) May we find confidence and joy in that awesome promise!