Hello brothers and sisters in Christ. I trust your week went well
and you are looking forward to the weekend. God is good all the time,
all the time God is good.
Last time I covered 3 of Moses'
excuses - recap - I am not worthy; I don't know enough about God;
Nobody will believe me. Now, if you do a self-reflection you probably
can see yourself saying this exact same thing.
Then Moses went
on to say he could not speak well. The Bible says he was heavy of mouth
- probably some type of speech problem. So God backed down and said
okay; NO, here is what God said: Exodus 4: 12 "Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say."
God's answer should have been enough, however, Moses now shows that he
really did not want to go. So Moses' 4th and 5th excuses - I can't
speak and I don't want to go. Hmmm! He did not consult God and should
have listened. Moses was aggressive in killing the Egyptian; now he is
wanting to be passive. He really does not see God's plan as we do since
we have it all written out. lol
In Exodus chapters 6 through 12 you can read about the plagues. The
Bible speaks of hardening Pharaoh's heart. This may make it sound as if
Pharaoh is God's puppet and God is hardening Pharaohs heart, however,
Pharaoh probably had a hard heart to begin with. He wanted the slaves
so they could do his bidding to construct whatever he desired. In
saying God hardened Pharaohs heart, it more than likely means that God
allowed Pharaoh to have his own way. Pharaoh chose to rebel and to
follow in his own stubborn ways. Then he and the Egyptians suffered the
consequences of his stubbornness.
The
plagues were real events God used to free His people from Egyptian
oppression. Some might argue that the plagues were just an occurrence
of nature. Nothing supernatural about it. Well, the frogs, locusts,
stinging gnats, the boils and death of the livestock could uphold this
argument. However, I say again, HOWEVER, this all affected ONLY THE
EGYPTIANS and the Hebrews were left unscathed by these plagues.
Hmmmm! What do you think. I think God was involved!!!
God was there also to prove that HE alone is I AM!! In the Egyptian religious system you have to remember that:
1-Pharaoh was a god
2-The Nile made life possible
3-The sun was viewed as a god
4-Animals possessed religious significance.
The
plagues attacked the Egyptian religion in all four of these area by
bring destruction or defeat in these areas. God showed, or proved to
both the Hebrews and the Egyptians that HE alone is the LORD of the universe and greater than the false gods of Egypt.
When the children of Israel, the Hebrews, left Egypt some scholars have
discussions about when they left and exactly where they left or the
route they took. I ask you, does it matter? If those were of grave
importance, God would have given that information when HE inspired the
men to write the Bible. Here are some questions to think about:
1. What is the purpose of the Book of Exodus?
2. What was happening to the Hebrews when Moses was born?
3. Why did Moses flee Egypt?
4. What was Moses' profession when God called him?
5. Whom did God provide to help Moses?
6. Why did God send plagues on Egypt?
7. How did the Hebrews finally escape the Egyptians?
This
study is interesting and generates thoughts and open up information
that may have been left out in Sunday School. Love you all.
In Christ's Love and Grace
Johnny
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