Moses was a very inspirational character in the Bible.  He surely was a man of God who led God’s people out of Egyptian slavery.  Just like any human being, he was not perfect.  However, the high points of his life should be imitated.

 

1. Before Moses was born, his people were being enslaved by the Egyptians (Exodus 1:1-22).

   1. Now, the Egyptians were a very cruel people toward the children of Israel.

      1. The children of Israel are also called Hebrews.

   2. The Egyptians became very paranoid when they discovered how large in number the children of Israel had become.

      1. They feared that this large group of Hebrews would become allies to their enemies and rise up against them.

      2. So, with hatred in their hearts, the Egyptians made their work harder and harder.

      3. Even worse, to try to take away the power of the Hebrews, the Pharaoh commanded that all young, male Hebrew children be killed.

      4. This was cruel beyond belief, but it happens and certainly, happened in Moses’ day.

         1. However, the Hebrew midwives did not obey the orders of the government.

            1. This is how God wants us to react to the government when they try to force Christians to do things He is against.

            2. The Bible tells us, “…We must obey God rather than human beings!” (Acts 5:29 New International Version).

            3. We are to obey everything the government says except for the things they allow that are evil (Romans 13).

               1. For example, the government allows abortion, gay marriage, gambling, and other things not allowed in the New Testament (1 John 3:15; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Colossians 3:5).

               2. We have to understand that just because something is legal, does not make it right.

               3. We have to understand that just because something is legal, we do not have to do it.

               4. God’s rules are always put before man’s rules.

               5. Always keep this in mind to keep God happy with your life.

            4. The Hebrew midwives were the people who helped deliver the babies.

               1. They refused to kill the Hebrew children as this was the right thing to do!

               2. Since the midwives obeyed God instead of Pharaoh, God blessed them with children of their own.

               3. This goes to show us that there are blessings involved with obeying God.

               4. The greatest of them is eternal life in heaven when we continue to believe and obey Him until we die (Revelation 2:10).

      5. However, Pharaoh did not give up his plans to kill the Hebrew male children being born in the land.

         1. He issued an order for the parents to put the children on the Nile River so they would die at sea.

2. In Exodus 2, we see Moses’ parents hiding him after he was born.

   1. The Bible says they hid him for 3 months, before they had to follow Pharaoh’s orders to put the male child on the Nile River.

   2. Moses’ mother made a basket, called an ark, and made sure it was waterproof.

      1. She place Moses in it and let him go on the Nile River.

      2. Moses’ sister was watching as he floated away (Exodus 2:1-4).

   3. Obviously, God was with Moses as he did not die at sea.

      1. Instead, God fixed it where Moses’ ark caught the attention of an Egyptian princess (Exodus 2:5-8).

         1. This Egyptian princess was Pharaoh’s daughter and she fell in love with Moses when she saw him.

         2. She began to raise him as her own child.

         3. The good part about this story is God was still showing mercy on Moses’ parents.

         4. The princess needed someone to breast feed the child.

         5. So, Moses’ sister recommended a Hebrew woman she knew who could nurse the child.

         6. The princess did not know that the girl talking to her was Moses’ sister and the woman being recommended was really Moses’ mother!

         7. So, the princess allowed Moses to be nursed by his own mother and the princess did not know it!

         8. What does this lesson teach us?

         9. Well, as we have studied with other lessons, this event teaches us about the providence of God.

            1. Remember, this means that God can control situations from heaven to make His plans go forward in the earth no matter what mankind decides to do.

               1. In other words, even though Pharaoh wanted Moses dead and the child was put in a very dangerous situation on the Nile River, God still protected and preserved Moses.

               2. He protected and preserved Moses, because God had a future planned for him that no one could stop.

               3. Not even the most powerful king in the world being Pharaoh could stop it!

               4. As you will see, God hand selected Moses to be the one who would deliver the children of Israel from Egyptian slavery.

               5. So, there was no other option than for Moses to grow up and successfully carry out God’s plan for his life.

            2. The same is true for our lives.

               1. We do not know what God has planned for our future.

               2. Thus, we can never get discouraged when bad things happen to us.

               3. When God has a future planned for us, nothing can stop us from accomplishing it; not health problems, financial problems, or even enemies can stop us from receiving the blessings of God and carrying out God’s plan for our lives (James 1:17)!

               4. Remember, God is always in control no matter what others do!

3. Moving on, we see three big moments occur in Moses’ life that would change it forever (Exodus 2:11-15).

   1. First, he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew man.

      1. This sighting disturbed him so badly that he killed the Egyptian.

      2. Moses thought no one saw him before he did the deed.

      3. However, someone one saw him, because the news of this murder did get back to Pharaoh later on.

   2. Second, Moses saw two Hebrew men fighting each other.

      1. He tried to reason with the one who was wrong, but he said to Moses, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” (Exodus 2:14 New International Version).

   3. Third, Moses became afraid for his life and he fled to the nearby land of Midian for safety.

      1. This was a smart decision, because Pharaoh did make it up in his mind to have Moses executed for the murder of the Egyptian.

         1. Why did Moses kill the Egyptian?

            1. Well in the New Testament God tells us why.

            2. Acts 7:23-29 reads, “23 “When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. 24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. 25 Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. 26 The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’ 27 “But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? 28 Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons” (New International Version).

            3. As you can see, Moses already had it in mind that God was going to use him to lead the children of Israel to freedom from Egyptian slavery.

            4. However, his people did not think so at the time.

            5. What does this tell us?

               1. Well, sometimes, we want to rush God into blessing us.

               2. Well, God would use Moses, but it would be 40 years later (Exodus 7:7).

               3. Thus, we have to learn to wait on God to bless us.

               4. We do not control God and do not have the power to make Him do anything for us.

               5. He responds to us and grants our wishes out of the kindness of His heart and when He is ready to do so!

               6. So, we have to be patient and let God work in His own timing.

               7. Always remember, just because you ask God for something and it does not come immediately, does not mean God is not going to grant your prayer request.

               8. Sometimes, we must wait many years before God makes certain requests happen in our lives.

               9. God knows what He is doing.

               10. Trust Him when you have to wait!

               11. Every one, normally, has to wait in their lives for God to bless them!

               12. God is not slow.

               13. He just knows when to bless us and makes this decision according to His own superior, Divine wisdom.

4.  Moving forward, we see Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-4:18).

   1. This is one of the most famous scenes in the Bible.

   2. Through the angel of the Lord, God speaks to Moses.

   3. This was certainly a miraculous experience as the bush was on fire, but the fire was not burning it.

      1. So it would have certainly caught any man’s attention.

   4. Before Moses could have approached the bush, God commanded him to remove his sandals, because the presence of God made the place holy ground.

      1. Now, this incident of removing the shoes is symbolic of what we are to do today as Christians.

      2. Many Christians do not realize this, but being in a worship service is also being in the presence of God and He expects us to present ourselves a certain way (Matthew 18:20).

      3. He expects us to worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

         1. To worship in the spirit means to have our focus, obedience, emotions, and all of being devoted to God at the moment.

         2. In other words, we are living right and thinking right at the moment we are in the presence of God.

         3. Also, we must worship God in truth.

         4. To worship in the truth means to worship the way God has told us in the New Testament of the Bible.

         5. Remember, the New Testament is the covenant we must follow today as these are the Words Jesus left us to follow (Hebrews 12:24).

         6. We no longer worship according to the patterns of the Old Testament, because God took the Old Testament out of the way and nailed it to the cross when Jesus died (Colossians 2:14).

         7. What this means is that the Old Testament was removed and the New Testament was put in as the words we must obey today to be saved.

         8. So, the worship patterns of the New Testament must be followed.

         9. As the Bible shows, we cannot add Old Testament commandments and expect to be saved (Galatians 1:1-9; 5:1-4).

         10. We also cannot add things we want to do that God has not asked for and we cannot take away things we don’t want to do that God has asked for (Revelation 22:18-19).

         11. Furthermore, we must free ourselves of the guilt of sin that we may have committed before we enter into worship services for God to accept our worship.

         12. We do so by repentance (i.e. changing our sinful ways of living), confessing our fault to God, and asking Him to forgive us (Acts 8:22; 1 John 1:7-10).

   5. Returning to our story of Moses at the burning bush, God tells Him that He is the God of Moses’ ancestors – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 3:5-10).

      1. God also tells Moses that He has seen the suffering of the children of Israel under the oppressive hand of slavery imposed on them by the Egyptians.

      2. He also told Moses He would deliver these same children of Israel from their slavery in Egypt.

      3. He would not only deliver them from the land of Egypt, but give them the prosperous land of Canaan as their future home.

      4. Even more, God tells Moses that He is sending him to Pharaoh to act as the deliverer of the children of Israel.

   6. However, Moses has a lack of confidence in himself and did not think he was the right man to approach Pharaoh (Exodus 3:11-22).

      1. God tried to talk some sense into Moses.

      2. He told Moses many things to show him that his mission would be successful.

      3. In fact, God told Moses that He was going to send him to Egypt and bring him right back to the place where he is currently standing in Midian.

      4. He also told Moses that the children of Israel will believe him when he tells him God sent him to deliver them and give them the land of Canaan.

      5. Furthermore, He told Moses that yes, Pharaoh would be a problem for him as he will not want to let the children of Israel go free.

      6. Nonetheless, God would perform many miracles where Pharaoh would not have any choice, but to let the people go.

      7. Even more, God tells Moses that the Egyptians will not only let them go, but give the children of Israel silver, gold, and clothing on their exit from Egypt.

   7. Unfortunately, Moses still does not have confidence in himself (Exodus 4:1-17).

      1. He asked God, “…What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” (Exodus 4:1 New International Version).

         1. The Lord gives him a sign.

            1. He tells Moses to throw down his staff and it turned to a snake.

         2. He gave Moses another sign if the children of Israel did not believe the first sign.

            1. He told Moses to stick his hand inside of his robe.

            2. Miraculously, the hand turned white!

            3. God told him to stick his hand back inside of his robe.

            4. At this point, the hand was restored back to health.

         3. If the children of Israel did not believe the first two signs, God would empower Moses to be able to take water from the Nile River, pour it on the ground, and it would miraculously turn into blood (Exodus 4:1-9).

      2. Despite the signs God provided to Moses, he still had doubts about himself!

         1. The Bible says, “10 Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” 11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” 13 But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.” 14 Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. 17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it” (Exodus 4:11-17 New International Version).

         2. As you can see, Moses begged God to send someone else as the deliverer of the children of Israel.

         3. Moses was not confident in his speaking ability.

         4. However, God was confident in him, because He made Moses’ mouth and also, God had already planned for Aaron to help him!

         5. God was angered with Moses’ begging to be released from His responsibility.

         6. This teaches us that whatever God assigns us to do will be successful.

         7. He knows our abilities and will help us achieve what He wants even if we do not believe in ourselves.

         8. God will never send you to something you cannot do as He is trying to tell Moses in this chapter of the Bible.

         9. In fact, where we are weak, God will also send help to strengthen us.

         10. This is shown by God sending Aaron to help Moses.

         11. So, we need to have confidence in the things God sends us to do, because God will always be there with us to help us (Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:18-20).

         12. Instead of Aaron being sent as our help, our help today comes from Jesus, Himself!

         13. Remember the following words that will help you the rest of your life, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).

         14. So, if you work hard, pray about things, and believe that God will help you, then you will see results in your life no matter what you are doing!

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