Exodus 3

19 February, 2019, PSC Cafe Connecting Group

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+3

Recall briefly what people of God have been going through for the last 80+ years. Can you relate with it any bit?

Things have not been quite harsh & low for the people of God, and also FOR A VERY LONG TIME. Apparently so harsh & low, that Moses wonders if they are dead under the cruelty of Pharaoh (Exodus 4:18)!! And this has been going on for many decades (80+ years). A generation of God's people may have been born into this cruel slavery under the Egyptians and died into it. Why? Why did God allow this to happen to His CHILDREN (Yes, God calls these people His children in Exodus 4:22). And this was not a judgment for God for sins, as it happens to Israelite down the line (i.e., 2 Kings 15:29) - but not this time.

Now imagine what is on in the minds of the people of God (including Moses). Have they have been sinning badly?Are they thinking is God dead? Or has God abandoned them? Or may there is NO GOD - all stories from forefathers Abraham / Isaac / Jacob were all made up folklores (Remember there are many who do not believe in God when they see so much suffering & injustice in this world.)!

On top of this, I wonder much the devil has been planting the lies of despair in the minds of the people of God in these times! Remember from the beginning (i.e., Genesis 3 - "The Fall") to now, the devil has been in the non-stop business of planting lies in the minds of people, especially in difficult times.

Have you in your life gone through a prolonged period of oppression / suffering of some form? In those time have you felt as if God was dead (or not real) or God has abandoned you or if God was punishing you for your sins?

In Exodus 2:12 we see a “hot-headed” murderer Moses. From there somewhere along the journey he becomes the meekest man on earth (Numbers 12:3). How and when do you think that happened? Why this was needed to happen? What do you learn from this in your own life?

Some theorize that this transformation from a “hot-headed” murderer to the meekest man on earth happened in these presumed hard 40 years of Shepard life around the wilderness of Mount Sinai. Remember in contrast, before this period, for about 40 years Moses apparently lived very comfortably as a prince in the palace!

Moses needed to become the meekest man on earth, "possibly", because he would be leading the people of God (possibly millions) into a very grueling & difficult journey in wilderness that will last for 40 long long years. And in this journey there will also be a lot of complaining and grumbling from people - aka putting up with very difficult people for 40 long long years. This journey would require a LOT of "character" from the leader of the flock.

So, God may take you through a period of character building, like he did with Moses, before you can embark on His plans for your life. He "possibly" did the same with Joseph (thirteen years combined as a slave & prisoner) before God gave him the huge responsibility to rule over Egypt, under Pharaoh.

BTW, talking of meekness, have you heard the saying "Your attitude determines your altitude"?

From the story of Moses, so far, what all do you learn towards “finding God’s plan for your life”?

Remember one of big reasons God has put these stories in Bible, is so that we can learn from them how God works in the life on a person. We need to look at these stories and try to understand what is going on in our own lives and where God might be leading us. For instance, till any point in the Bible, we can ask the big questions of life, such as, so far what do all we learn about :- (a) why does God allow suffering & evil?, (b) How does a God lead a person amid sufferings, (c) How does one decipher God's plan for one's life, (d) etc.

Now coming back to the story of Moses ...

From Exodus 2:11-14 - God may have given Moses, the desire to lead Israelites out of bondage into freedom, quite early on (Remember Joseph had dreams pertaining to his future rulership - Genesis 37:5-9). But, Moses did not know for 80 years, precisely what God had made him for!! (Talking of finding God's plan for one's life ...)

Moses waited for 80 LONG years, till he embarked into what God made him for. But the 80 years were not futile either! God was using them to prepare Moses. For the first 40 years, God led him to live as a prince in Pharaoh's palace. While other people of God were still in hard slavery, God put Moses in a palace for 40 years. Why? Is it because God loved Moses more than other people of God in slavery? No! During these 40 years in royal care Moses may have been equipped very well to be a great leader, as expected from a prince. Then the following 40 years God may have moulded his inner character so that he could become a responsible and robust leader. That is time probably he became the meekest man on earth.

Charles Spurgeon said in the first 40 years, Moses learnt to be a ruler and in the following 40 years he learnt to be a Shepard of God's people!

Chuck Smith said "Now no doubt Moses" experiences there in the wilderness were going to be necessary experiences. Number one, while he was there he was learning the lay of the land. As he was out there as a shepherd following the flocks through the Sinai desert and around Mount Horeb, he became very well acquainted with the area. He knew where all of the wells were. He began to know a little bit about the weather conditions. Really beginning to get a lot of good, practical savvy on survival in the wilderness. These things were all to be helpful for him in the big project that God had for him in leading the children of Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land. So he was out there now learning in the school of experience, wilderness or desert survival which would prove to be very handy later."

Moses had to be very dependent on God. At the age of 80 he may not have expected to be this kind of leader, especially on his own strengths. He in-fact did not want to accept God's calling (Exodus 4:13), as he felt grossly under-qualified. He failed to understand that in God's calling we primarily rely on God's strength not ours. So, do not try to run away from your callings, feeling grossly under-qualified. If you are grossly under-qualified, it is because God wants to show His power through you and your calling.

So God spend 80 years preparing Moses for what he was made for. Look back at your life - Do you see how God has been working in your life and how He may have been preparing you for His calling (s)? Do you see specific incidents orchestrated by God for some purpose?

40 years around wilderness, in the life of Moses, was not a "waste"! Have you gone through a season of life, which you thought was wasteful, but latter you found out that it was a season God was using to prepare you for future?

MISC

Exodus 3:12 "I will be with you. " - Always remember as an encouragement and source of strength, this in your callings!
Some theorize the "the angel of the Lord" to be pre-incarnate Christ (https://www.gotquestions.org/angel-of-the-Lord.html)
Read more about "I AM who I AM" (Exodus 3:14):- https://www.gotquestions.org/I-AM-WHO-I-AM-Exodus-3-14.html
In justification of "plunder of Egyptians" ordered by God, Chuck Smith writes "So God"s saying, teaching them how to rip off the Egyptians. But in reality what they were taking was really the wages that were due to them through the several years of slavery, and servitude in which they were not paid. And so it was just really collecting back wages for all of the years that they had been slaves to the Egyptians."