We shall continue the
study of Exodus, the second book of the Old Testament.
(1) God has already appeared to Moses in person. He heard God’s voice and saw the miracle of the burning bush. What else did Moses need in order to trust God? Was his question in v.1 an excuse or a valid question? How so?
(2) What were the three miracles that God told Moses to perform?
(3) Upon seeing these miracles, how would the Israelites understand the difference between those of their God and those of the deities worshipped in Egypt?
(4) With what was being said by God in vv. 8-9, what can you tell about God’s knowledge of the people He was going to deliver?
(5) What have you learned today and how may you apply it in your life?
“But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.” (Exod. 4:9)
There is no
doubt that the task of delivering the people from slavery in Egypt appeared to
be an impossible one. Even if Moses was willing
to take on this impossible task, there was no way that the people of Israel
would agree to follow Moses.
- Why would Pharaoh set his Hebrew slaves free?
- It would not only be an economic disaster—foregoing a huge pool of labor so important to the building not only of the pyramids but the various structures vital to the economy of the country;
- But it would also be political suicide—signaling to all the vassal states that they too could start a revolt against Pharaoh.
- As much as the Hebrew population might number about 2½ million including women and children, they were not trained for battle and were certainly not armed. They could in no way match the well-trained, well-equipped Egyptian army.
- Moses was about to lead them into the Sinai desert, a place utterly unsuitable for survival. That means it was a sure road of death.
Therefore, as much as Moses asked question after question, God was patient in answering them, one by one. And when Moses softened his resistance and asked, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you.’?” (Exod. 4:1), God did not rebuke him. Instead, He told him and enabled him to perform not one, not two, but three miracles before the people—turning the staff into a snake and vice versa, making a healthy hand into a leprous one and then reversing it , and turning water into blood.
Perhaps, just one miracle would give Moses the confidence to go to the people, but God knew His people better—they were a bunch of faithless people, easily swayed and easily discouraged. So, without Moses asking, He granted him three consecutive miracles to perform.
While not all tasks assigned to us by God are impossible, He knows far better about the difficulties that we would encounter than we do, and just as He equipped Moses with extra miracles, He will give us more than we need to enable us to do His task. After all, the ministries, the battles and the people we serve are all His.
(1) Do you think what Moses said in v. 10 was an excuse? Consider the following:
a. His training in Egypt’s palace
b. Who was the one doing most of the talking to the people
(2) How true was God’s answer in v. 11? What is its implication to you today?
(3) Moses revealed his bottom line in v. 13. If you were Moses, would you say that? Why or why not?
(4) What was God’s reaction to Moses’ attitude?
(5) Have you made God mad lately (or ever)? What happened?
(6) As far as Moses was concerned, what might be the danger of being elevated to the point that he “were [as] God to him”?
(7) How did Moses handle such a potential temptation? (See Num. 12:3.)
(8) Why did God tell Moses to take “this staff” with him? Could God not perform miracles without this staff?
(9) What have you learned today and how may you apply it in your life?
“Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses.” (Exod. 4:14)
In the Bible, we read over and over again that God is long-suffering and is a very patient God. How then could Moses make Him mad? Yesterday, I was saying that in spite of Moses’ repeated questions, his doubting of who he was (3:11), questioning Who God was (3:13), and even doubting if the people would believe that God did appear to him (4:1), the LORD was very patient. Indeed, He gave him answer after answer, that is, until he said he was slow of speech.
God was losing His patience when He answered Moses this last question. He did not just remind Moses about who gave man mouth and sight, but added, “Who makes him deaf and mute? Who…makes him blind?” (4:11). In other words, it was not just an encouragement, but a warning!
Did Moses get the message? In a way, he did! He knew that it was time not to ask any more questions, because God had made up His mind. But he would like God to know that he too had made up his mind, and so he said, “O Lord, please send someone else to do” (4:13).
Could God send someone else to do his job? Of course, He could. He could even send angels too. He would not send us to do anything He Himself would not do, and so He eventually sent His Son to deliver all mankind out of our slavery to sin.
But to be chosen by God is such a privilege. Just imagine what if God said, “Okay, you may go home?”. He could choose Aaron to complete the task. But the loss would entirely be Moses’ not God’s—not just the chance to make history, but the chance to save his people, to witness His great wonders and powers, and most of all the chance to know God as his friend (33:11). Moses would have spent the next 40 years tending sheep in the desert of Midian, looking at all these from a distance as a spectator, living a life of regret!
I am afraid that some of you who are reading this article fully understand what I am talking about!
(1) What did Moses tell his father-in-law?
(2) What didn’t he tell Jethro? What does this signify?
(3) Moses took his family with him.
(4) It seems that God appeared to Moses again when he was back in Midian, now that he had time to digest the whole experience and mull over his mission:
(5) The passage in vv. 24-26 is most enigmatic and is unlikely to have any consensus this side of heaven, but, still, let’s try to meditate on it. Based on a traditional Jewish understanding it is most likely that “Moses has neglected the commandment to circumcise his son” (Alter, 331) as stipulated by God in Genesis 17:
- What then did this event mean to Moses?
- What was the significance of him being saved by his wife?
- Although, it appears that Moses eventually sent his family home (see Exod. 18:2), what did this event mean to the whole family?
(6) What did the elders of Israel do at the end of this section? According to v. 31, why did they do so?
(7) What have you learned today and how may you apply it in your life?
“And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.” (Exod. 4:31)
Indeed, most of the stories in the last four books of the Pentateuch speak of a faithless and rebellious people of God, but there were also times that they exhibited a spirituality worthy of our copy. This initial meeting between the elders of the Israelites and Moses was one.
Of course, it was upon the performance by Moses of the three miracles of snake, leprous hand and blood that these people believed in what Moses said. But it was upon learning that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery that, “they bowed down and worshipped”!
What a picture! What a precious picture of faith!
And it was precious, because they bowed down and worshipped while they were still in their present plight, before God had done anything for them. The hearing of God’s Word was enough to touch them deeply, to the point that they had to bow down and worship.
Many of us have had similar experiences in that while we were still in our plight, whether it was a financial disaster, a relational nightmare or some trouble that was too grievous to share with anyone else, God touched us with His word showing us that He was “concerned” and that He had “seen” our misery. That was enough to send us on our knees, to praise Him and to worship Him. It could be one of the most exhilarating experiences in life.
(1) Was the request by Moses and Aaron reasonable at all? Why or why not?
(2) Imagine that you go to an employer in, say, an Islamic country, and ask for a day off on the same grounds. What might you expect the employer to say?
(3) What further reason(s) did Moses and Aaron give in v.3?
(4) Instead of trying to see if Moses and Aaron had lied, what was the focus of the king?
(5) In what way was Pharaoh like the world in general, when we seek to introduce them to God?
(6) What was Pharaoh trying to achieve by his new order to the slave drivers and foremen? Was he successful?
(7) The foremen’s response to their beating was understandable, but what about Moses’?
(8) What did Moses’ response to the LORD tell us about his spiritual condition at this point of his journey?
(9) What have you learned today and how may you apply it in your life?
“Let my people go…" (Exod. 5:1)
Allow me to bring you to the court of Pharaoh on that day when Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and asked that he let the Israelites go.
After an absence of forty years, Moses now walked into the palace in which he grew up. Although it had been forty years, it would have brought back many memories as he walked past the palace garden where he had run around all day as a child. He would also walk past some of the corridors where he engaged in conversation with many of his royal friends, and he would walk past the compound in which he received his military training. Gingerly he walked into the palace where he had been many times, as the son of the daughter of Pharaoh. But now, it was not only a foreign place to him, but a hostile environment.
Though it had been forty years, many of the palace officials and guards recognized him, and Pharaoh and his officials must have already heard rumors of why he was coming—the freeing of his people from slavery. The only thing they wondered about was how on earth Moses would present his request or what excuse Moses would use to start his rebellion.
You have to understand how far-fetched Moses’ excuse was, using his God as the reason. It was unheard of in human history, at least up to that point in time. If it was not an excuse, what was it?! Apart from being angry, I suspect Pharaoh was laughing in his heart, because it was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard—a God who would not show up Himself, but commissioned a fool like Moses to ask for the freedom of His people!
Little did Pharaoh know that not only does God exist, but that He is such a Holy God that at His sight no human can survive! So, to send His agent to speak for Him is the only merciful way possible. But Pharaoh’s response of saying “Who is the LORD?…I do not know the LORD” amounts to saying that I am from Missouri—show me!
We know that as the events of Exodus unfolded, God did show Himself to Pharaoh to the point that His existence and His power were undeniable. But the bottom line was, Pharaoh’s mind was made up from the very beginning, or in the word of the LORD, his heart was hardened. As much as it was said over and over again that it was God who hardened his heart, the truth of the matter was Pharaoh had already made up his mind—and no amount of miracles and no amount of gracious mercy would change his mind, because “the same sun that melts the wax, hardens the clay”.
(1) In response to Moses’ complaint, the Lord gave a fairly lengthy reply that deserves our reflection in vv. 1-5:
a. What did the first part of God’s reply (v. 1) signify to Moses?
b. God reminded Moses of the difference in His appearance to Abraham and His appearance to him. What was the difference and what is the significance of this difference?
c. Why was His appearance to Abraham relevant to their present challenge?
d. What did God reiterate as the reason for His action, apart from simply honoring His promise to Abraham?
e. What should all these mean to Moses in spite of the setback?
(2) What should the message that Moses was to bring back to the people mean to them (vv. 6-8)? Consider the following:
a. His name is “I AM”
b. How the deliverance would come about
c. A promise of a personal relationship
d. A reminder of His covenant with the patriarch
e. A reiteration of His name
(3) In what ways was this message similar to the salvation God has given us in Jesus Christ? In what way is our salvation in Christ greater than the deliverance of the people from Egypt?
(4) While they bowed down and worshipped God when they first heard of God’s concern for them, why did they not listen to Moses’ report from God?
(5) Try to define discouragement. How destructive is discouragement to one’s relationship with God?
(6) How did the people’s discouragement affect the leader, Moses?
(7) What is the main message for you today and how may you apply it in your life?
Note: The genealogy in vv. 14-25 is obviously not a complete genealogy. Its purpose is made clear in vv. 26-27.
“Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage.” (Exod. 6:9)
There is a Chinese proverb which says, “The beginning is always tough”. Those who have been involved in pioneering a work would agree. But if we persevere, we will taste the sweetness of our hard labor. Looking back, I am sure Moses would have agreed too, but at this point of his mission, he could hardly see how he would even move another inch. The reason was that the most destructive force of faith had set in, and that was discouragement.
There is another Chinese proverb which says, “There is no greater sorrow than the death of a heart.”
As harsh as the slavery was, the Israelites had gotten used to, perhaps hundreds of years of, it. Yes, they moaned and they groaned, but given the mighty power of Pharaoh and his army, they groaned in submission.
As cruel as the killing of their babies was, they had learned to cope with it. Somehow, they managed to hide some of their male babies. As angry as they might be at heart, they somehow had learned to accept it as a fact of life in Egypt.
As unpleasant as life was, they were prepared to live on, and we hear of no rumors or reports of revolt or revolution.
But all had changed at the appearance or re-appearance of Moses, bringing hope, great hope to the people. The mere report that God was concerned for them and had seen their misery caused them to bow down and worship (Exod. 4:31).
Of course, the courage demonstrated by Moses and Aaron was enough for them to believe their message, let alone the miracles that they performed right before their dazzled eyes.
But all went downhill from there quickly.
The first encounter with Pharaoh resulted in a disaster which crushed all their hope.
The present slavery was hard enough, but the added task of having to collect their own straw was really unreasonable and cruel. According to an Egyptian account, brick-laying was a dirty, exhausting process. Separate teams were ordered to gather and cut straw, to shape the mud by hand or with molds, and to supervise the drying process, which would take about three weeks. The bricks were then carried by slaves to the construction sites. Presumably, now all these tasks had to be done by the Hebrew slaves—an impossible task.
I suspect that even under such a harsh condition, the Hebrew slaves might still be able to swallow it, if not for the hope “falsely” generated by Moses. They were now like a popped balloon, all the air had been let out, with nothing left. Discouragement is that destructive! When hope is gone, so is life—the heart dies, and it is a very infectious disease too. Their discouragement spread even to Moses their leader. (Exod. 6:30)
Therefore, in our walk with God, we need to guard against the disease of discouragement, especially discouraging words that may come out of our mouth!
(1) Now, Moses’ reiteration of what he said to God in 4:10 basically amounted to saying, “I told you so!” How would you define Moses’ spiritual leadership at this point?
(2) If you were the Lord, what would you have done to Moses?
(3) How different was Moses from church leaders or ministers today?
(4) In His reiteration of His command to Moses and Aaron, what might be new in this message? What would it have meant to Moses? (Note also the new description that God now gave to His people.)
(5) Was there a message here in mentioning the respective ages of Moses and Aaron?
(6) Granted Moses’ speech might really be “faltering lips”, what was the thing that really mattered for Moses to be an effective messenger of God and why?
(7) Although Pharaoh did not budge, what has the miracle of the staff-turned-snake achieved, as far as Moses’ mission was concerned, at this important beginning of his ministry.
(8) As much as Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, how might they be treated differently when Moses and Aaron next show up?
(9) What is the main message for you today and how may you apply it in your life?
Note: See article of Exodus 5:1-23, Year 2 Week12 Day 81, concerning the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart.
“Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.” (Exod. 7:7)
I wonder why the Bible would mention the age of Moses and Aaron at the time that they spoke to Pharaoh. Yes, the Bible is also a historical record and so mentioning age and years should not be a surprise. But I still believe that there is a message in telling us the age of both Moses and Aaron.
I have mentioned about the possible reasons for the “long” period of time that God has allowed His people to suffer and the possible delay of the choosing of Moses in an earlier article. Here, I cannot help but reflect on their old age.
Granted that people in earlier Biblical times did live longer lives, but 80 years old is still an old age. This is why Caleb had to assure Joshua with these words, “So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong as I was then.” (Jos. 14:10-11). Sure he was. But the very fact that he had to mention his age shows that he was old, and was not quite expected to do the things he was about to take on.
But whether it was Caleb or Moses or Aaron, they are examples that God can still call and use people in their old age to accomplish great tasks for Him, and with all three of them, it marked the beginning of a great mission for them.
In the last few decades, we have witnessed the movement of not-so-young tent-makers being sent by God to places not as accessible by traditional missionaries. They have become a very strategic army raised by God at this critical juncture of the history of mission, and I pray that the mentioning of the age of Moses, of Aaron and of Caleb will serve to encourage not only middle-aged Christians, but even seniors to respond to the call of God.
(1) We now come to what is known as the first of the ten plagues. What did God want to demonstrate to Pharaoh and the Egyptians through the turning of the water in the Nile into blood?
(2) There was also an irony in turning water into “blood” which is the source and substance of life. What then might the warning be to Pharaoh?
(3) What kind of trouble did this miracle cause the people of Egypt?
(4) Why did God permit the magicians of Egypt to perform the same acts of miracle?
(5) Why didn’t Pharaoh even “take this to heart”? Shouldn’t he think of asking his Egyptian magicians to “reverse” the miracle?
(6) Why did God still put the request only as “so that they may worship me in the desert”?
(7) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it in your life?
“And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water, because they could not drink the water of the river.” (Exod. 7:24)
As much as God seemed to favor the Hebrews over all other peoples of the earth, we know that it was because of the promise He has covenanted with Abraham. However, throughout the Old Testament, God’s desire that all the peoples and the nations of the earth would worship Him and belong to Him is made clear, even during the entire process of Exodus.
For one, the killing of the first-born of Egypt was forewarned by the Lord from the very beginning to Pharaoh (Exod. 4:22), and the fact that it was not the first plague but the last fully demonstrates that God is a God of mercy.
Even with this first plague of turning water into blood, or more accurately the water of Nile into blood, God reveals His mercy. As much as such a miracle affected the life of every Egyptian, it appears to be directed mainly to the god of the Egyptian, Hapi who was the god of both the Nile and of the fish and birds as well.
The fact that the Egyptian magicians could not reverse this miracle performed by Moses in the name of the LORD proves that God is greater than Hapi. Also, with this miracle, Moses has demonstrated that the God of the Hebrews rules over nature—even the trees and stones (which the original Hebrew words indicate) were bleeding blood!
However, God still allowed them to get drinking water from digging into the ground (perhaps from wells). This in itself shows God’s mercy. All He wanted was that Pharaoh and the Egyptians would believe in Him and obey Him, He never intended to punish them beyond what was necessary.