Christian Family Fellowship - PDO, Muscat.
Moses - Part II
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and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead" (Exo12:30).
In this study, we shall look at the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt and the early part of their journey through the wilderness.
a) Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh : (Exo 8:19, 25, 28; 9:34; 10:8-11, 24-26)
After the Lord brought 4 plagues upon the land of Egypt by the hands of Moses and Aaron, Pharaoh began to negotiate with Moses on the release of the Israelites. He initially offered to let the Israelites worship the Lord in the land of Egypt and later offered that the Israelites worship God in the desert but not far from him. After the plague of hailstorm, Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron saying "...I have sinned this time; the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked". He requested that Moses pray to the Lord for the plague to cease, but no sooner that happened did he change his mind again "And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more and hardened his heart, he and his servants". Pharaoh’s stubborn refusal to heed the warning of God through the mouth of the Lord’s servants (Moses and Aaron) and even after his magicians had warned him about the finger of God, brought untold hardship to the Egyptians till the point where the first born male child of every Egyptian family died.
Discussion
i) How did Moses respond to the different maneuvers of Pharaoh to strike a compromise with him as regards letting the Israelites go and worship God?
ii) In all the above, did Pharaoh ever truly repent, or he was merely sorrowful for the consequences of sin.
iii) In our daily living, how do we respond to the counsel of God as given to us through fellowship meetings, church service etc? Do we feel repentant during such fellowship, but the moment we leave the fellowship venue, we forget our conviction thus behaving like Pharaoh. ( l Cor 10:11,13).
b) The Exodus (Exo 13:14 - 14:14)
As the Israelites left Egypt, Moses admonished them "And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying what is this? That thou shall say unto him, by strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage". God did not lead them through the shorter direct road that passes through the country of the Philistines, but rather through a somewhat ‘dead end’ and finally showed His great and mighty power of deliverance at the red sea (Exo 14:31).
Discussion
iv) What does Exo 13:14 teach us about Moses? How much do our children know of our past, the mighty works of God in our past lives?
v) Moses did not assume the road through which the Lord would lead the Israelites out of Egypt as in (Exo 13:17). Do we as Christians take heed to the counsel of God concerning even ‘seemingly obvious decisions’ in our lives. Cf Dan 3:16-18.
vi) Compare Exo 4:13 and Exo 6:12, with Exo 14:13. What do these verse teach us about Moses? Are we growing in the Lord, or do we still desire milk rather than solid food?
c) The journey through the wilderness (Exo 15:22 - 16:3)
The Israelites jubilation and seeming reverence for the Lord became short-lived, when after three days of journey in the wilderness they desired drinking water but found none. They grumbled and murmured against Moses. This seemed to be the habit of the Israelites - recall several of their murmurings and grumblings.
Discussion
vii) On each of the occasions so far encountered, how did Moses react to the grumblings of the Israelites?
Closing Remarks
Identify at least three more attributes of Moses based on the passages we have studied today.
Next week we shall look at the remainder of the Israelites journey through the wilderness, and the death of Moses. Please read Num :20, 21.